Department for Transport

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had discussions with the car insurance sector regarding (a) the cost of premiums and (b) the variations in that cost around the UK.

Andrew Jones: The Department has held a number of meetings with the motor insurance industry on a range of topics. The cost of motor insurance is the responsibility of insurers based on the applicant’s risk. This includes factors such as the driver’s age, driving record, type of vehicle and where they live. Data from the ABI’s quarterly average private comprehensive tracker shows that the average premium in Quarter 3 2015 is 6.7% lower than in Quarter 3 2012.

Department for Transport: Public Expenditure

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) the amount of any underspend expected against departmental expenditure limits in the current fiscal year and (b) his Department's latest forecast of total AME spend for this year are; and what the forecasts were for those two sums at the time of the Summer Budget 2015 and March Budget 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The most recently published plans for Departmental Expenditure Limits are published on gov.uk here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-budget-2015The Department’s Annually Managed Expenditure budget was published on gov.uk here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/441360/PU_1815_Main_Estimates_book_WEB.pdfOBR will publish an update of the 2015-16 economic and fiscal outlook on 25th November alongside the Autumn Statement and outturn data will be published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts planned for publication by the end of June, before Summer recess.

West Coast Railway Line

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the likely effect on (a) passenger and (b) freight traffic on the West Coast Mainline following completion of Phase 1 of High Speed 2; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The construction of High Speed 2 (HS2) will release capacity on the existing network, including the West Coast Mainline, reducing crowding, improving resilience and reliability across the network, and improving journey opportunities for passengers. This released capacity could also provide space for at least an extra 20 West Coast Main Line freight paths helping to meet forecast freight demand and taking lorries off the road network. Phase One of HS2 will also bring substantial benefits in its own right, providing additional capacity and improved connectivity.

Transport: Standards

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the type approval regime is for (a) aircraft used at UK airports and (b) ships used at UK ports; and whether there are any emissions standard components to either of those regimes.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The certification of aircraft and aero-engines is primarily the responsibility of the certification authority for the state of manufacture. In Europe this is the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) who also have oversight of aircraft and engines certified in other regions that expect to be registered in the UK or any other European country.The certification requirement for Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), Carbon Monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbon is based on operating the engine on a test bed at different thrust settings to simulate the landing and take-off phases of flight below 3000 feet. The visible smoke test identifies the worst case condition for smoke. A new standard for CO2 emissions from aircraft is being developed and is expected to assess the cruise emissions as this phase dominates total fuel burn. EASA certification Engineers would verify the fuel burn on tightly controlled test flights.Ships are primarily regulated through the United Nations International Maritime Organization and are subject to a range of technical and operational requirements set down in international law.Emissions from shipping are subject to controls under Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) and a related European regime with performance standards in place for both pollutant emissions and energy efficiency. Where these requirements refer to the type approval of specific equipment, an approval process is carried out against the agreed standard to ensure the equipment is fit for purpose. The type approval of equipment on ships is normally carried out by a certification authority on behalf of a State.

Manston Airport

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on funding the independent review on the future of the Manston airfield.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport spent £75,000 to undertake an independent review of the Compulsory Purchase Order process regarding Manston airfield.

Department for Transport: Public Expenditure

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising in real terms in each year since 2010-11.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department’s spend on temporary agency staff, consultancy and administration for the financial years from 2010/11 to 2014/15 is published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts and is included in the tables below.(a) Temporary Agency StaffTemporary Agency Staff (£m) 2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15Department for Transport (central)6.874.106.8512.8015.77Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency3.701.003.131.220.98Driving Standards Agency0.340.000.010.130.80Highways Agency3.762.451.015.839.82Maritime and Coastguard Agency0.480.170.140.571.07Vehicle Certification Agency0.150.120.170.360.14Vehicle and Operator Services Agency1.001.592.283.025.39Department Total16.309.4313.5923.9333.97(b) ConsultancyConsultancy (£m) 2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15Department for Transport (central)5.545.5710.308.1219.25Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency0.760.480.560.700.12Driving Standards Agency0.100.000.000.040.31Highways Agency3.870.300.190.270.00Maritime and Coastguard Agency0.130.050.100.130.00Vehicle Certification Agency0.000.000.000.050.00Vehicle and Operator Services Agency0.390.010.070.970.09Department Total10.796.4111.2210.2819.77The figures for temporary staff and consultancy have been produced based on Cabinet Office definitions for these categories of expenditure. Consultancy is defined as work of an advisory nature designed to inform policy or to assist with strategic decisions and complex legal issues. Temporary Staff category includes expenditure where it is clear that specific individuals are being engaged to work on projects and ‘business as usual’ functions.Please see (d) Administration for further information(c) Non-payroll StaffMost non-payroll expenditure is included as either Temporary Staff or Consultancy answered in parts (a) and (b) above, with the exception of:-Non-Payroll Staff (£M)2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)1.681.762.052.183.04 VCA figures include overseas contractors and locally employed staff. There was a large increase 2013/14 to 2014/15 as they took over a Turkish contract.(d) AdministrationAdministration costs reflect the costs of running the Department, including staff, accommodation, IT costs, and operating lease rentals. The administration budget figures below are substantially lower than the 2009-10 figure of £297m.   Department for Transport Spend Category (£m)2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15Total Administration Budget276.26216.74242.93240.08271.38To ensure that the Department was resourced to deliver its agenda, particularly around letting and managing rail franchise contracts following the Laidlaw and Brown reviews, HM Treasury agreed to switch £25m from DfT’s Programme to Administration budgets, increasing the Department’s 2014-15 Administration budget to £275m, plus £13m for depreciation.The increases in (a) temporary staff and (b) consultancy spend was covered in this switch.Notes:1. Government Car & Despatch Agency disbanded during 2012/13 following which the work has been undertaken within the Department. The Administration therefore falls under Central Administration section from2013/14 onwards.2. General Lighthouse Authorities consolidated into the Department’s accounts for 2013/14 and beyond.(e) Marketing and AdvertisingSpend on marketing, including marketing related advertising, by the Department and its Executive Agencies for the financial years 2012/13 to 2014/15 is set out in the table below.Marketing spend in 2014/15 is 83% less than the £48.4 million recorded for 2009/10.Marketing related expenditure (£m) 2012/132013/142014/15Department for Transport (central)3.474.795.96Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency0.56NilNilDriver and Vehicle Standards Agency1--0.23Driving Standards Agency10.040.03-Government Car and Despatch Agency2Nil--Highways Agency0.460.431.91Maritime and Coastguard Agency0.180.160.21Vehicle and Operator Services Agency10.060.06-Vehicle Certification Agency0.04N/A0.05Department Total4.805.478.36Notes:1. The Driving Standards Agency and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency became the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in April 2014.2. The Government Car and Despatch Agency ceased on 30 September 2012.Most of the additional spend in 2014/15 compared to the previous year is attributable to the THINK! Drug Drive campaign in March 2015 supporting the implementation of new enforcement regulations and the Highways Agency public information campaign on the implementation of new traffic management and payment methods at the Dartford Crossing.Figures for 2010/11 and 2011/12 were not prepared and could be compiled now only at disproportionate cost.

M20: Large Goods Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with freight and haulier representatives on ensuring better access to food, drink and sanitation facilities as part of his Department's development of a strategy to improve the running of Operation Stack; and when he expects to announce his Department's strategy.

Andrew Jones: Government continues to work closely with a wide range of key partners on a number of short to long term solutions to Operation Stack. Based on these discussions, Highways England are assessing a number of sites off the strategic road network which could offer a potential long term solution and are exploring these options with landowners and stakeholders.As part of this, my Department and Highways England will assess the facilities that will be made available on any such site and will liaise with the freight and haulier organisations in due course.At present, an agreement has been reached with the owners of Manston Airfield in Kent to enable Kent Police, Highways England and Kent County Council to use the Airfield on a temporary basis to help reduce pressure on the M20 during Operation Stack. If Manston Airfield were to be required, access to toilet and washing facilities, and access to drinking water, would be provided as a minimum for drivers of parked vehicles as soon as reasonably practicable.

M20: Large Goods Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assistance the Government has given to (a) Kent Police, (b) Kent County Council, (c) other operational organisations and (d) businesses to cover costs and losses during the implementation of Operation Stack in 2015.

Andrew Jones: To date, no additional financial assistance has been provided by the Department for Transport to Kent Police, Kent County Council, or other operational organisations / businesses in relation to Operation Stack being implemented during 2015.However, we are working closely with Highways England on the best approach to address their additional costs brought about by the implementation of Operation Stack.Any financial assistance relating to Kent Police and UK businesses is a matter for the Home Office and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills respectively.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance Premium Tax

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on the ability of young drivers to gain insurance cover of the recent increase in the insurance premium tax.

Andrew Jones: My officials have not made an assessment. There are a number of behavioural, educational and technological interventions that have the potential to help improve young driver safety and hence have an impact on insurance premiums. We need better evidence about what works best, so we’re working with insurance companies to see how we can assess the impact of telematics products, amongst other things, on young driver safety.

Lighting

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has allocated to reducing light pollution in the next five financial years.

Andrew Jones: When environmental impacts of new transport infrastructure projects are identified as part of the assessment and design process, appropriate mitigation is funded from within the budget for that project.As part of the Road Investment Strategy, Highways England also has a £300m environment fund to deliver environmental improvements on their network, both through retrofitting measures on the existing road network and maximizing opportunities offered by new road schemes. Where there is a strong case, some of this fund could support projects which reduce light pollution.

Transport: Cheshire

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much capital spending per head of population was spent on transport projects in (a) Warrington and (b) Cheshire in each of the past five years.

Andrew Jones: Data on spend per head of population on transport projects is not available at the level of either Warrington or Cheshire.However, the three local authorities in Cheshire have benefitted from significant transport investment over last five years (2010-11 to 2014-15), for example, £ 35.6 million of Integrated Transport Block funding (Warrington £8.6 million) and £91.1 million for Highways Maintenance (Warrington £17 million). In addition, £12.7 million from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund supported programmes in each local authority area (Warrington £4.6 million), with Warrington also part of the £3.2 million Mid Mersey LSTF project. £9.88 million has been provided from the Local Pinch Point Fund and Cheshire East has received £15.6 million for the Crewe Green Link Road, due for completion shortly.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Statement of 10 November 2015, HCWS301, (a) how many Volkswagon vehicles have been retested to date, (b) how many such vehicles he expects to be retested and (c) what the findings were of the retest in relation to discrepancies in (i) nitrogen oxide and (ii) carbon dioxide emission figures; what recent estimate he has made of the cost of the retest programme; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones: Two Skoda vehicles (from the Volkswagen Group), of a type identified by the manufacturer as having defeat devices fitted, have been tested. These tests were to determine the potential for a wider test programme to identify the presence of a defeat device.We are not planning to retest any further Volkswagen group vehicles that are known to have defeat devices fitted but the Vehicle Certification Agency will test vehicles presented by Skoda (and at Skoda’s expense) to verify that the technical solution proposed ensures that the affected vehicles operate in accordance with the regulatory requirements.We do not have firm numbers for these preliminary tests in relation to nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide as they were not designed to provide absolute measurement, but to validate a test procedure for the wider programme.We have approved a budget of £675,000 from public funds to ensure that this important work can proceed. However, we have agreed with ministers in Germany and in France that we will collaborate to avoid duplication of testing and secure best value for the taxpayer.

Home Office

Members: Surveillance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion; and whether she has been subject to surveillance.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information she holds on surveillance of hon. Members' communications; and if she will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes: The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Disclosure of Information

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure whistleblowers and hon. Members can communicate with each other without their communications being intercepted.

Mr John Hayes: The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Nottingham North; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for South Down; and whether that Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 22 October 2015



The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Bridgend; and whether she has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden; and whether he has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 20 October 2015



The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Rotherham; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 21 October 2015



The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Walsall South; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 21 October 2015



The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the parliamentary communications of the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 21 October 2015



The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Leeds North West; and whether that hon. Member or his staff have been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 22 October 2015



The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Lincoln since his election; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 22 October 2015



The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood; and whether that hon. Member or her staff have been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 23 October 2015



The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communication of the hon. Member for Warrington North since her election; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 23 October 2015



The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Members: Surveillance

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the parliamentary communications of the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and electronic surveillance and equipment interference when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

Employment: Organised Crime

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to page 8 of the consultation document Tackling Exploitation in the Labour Market, published in October 2015, if she will publish research conducted by her Department that shows that there has been a shift from abuses of employment regulation towards increasingly organised criminal activity engaged in labour market exploitation over the last 10 years.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 06 November 2015



Operational information, which is not publically discloseable, received from the Gangmasters’ Licensing Authority indicates that, since the Authority began operations in 2006, it has seen an increase in the number of vulnerable people being exploited by organised criminals and criminal networks for profit in the sectors it regulates.Further information about the role of organised criminal activity would come from the proposed new role of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement who will have a role to gather information on worker exploitation and publish a strategic approach to tackling it.

Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

Karen Bradley: The previous Government signed the Istanbul Convention in June 2012 and this Government remains committed to its ratification.The UK already complies with the vast majority of the articles through our comprehensive work to protect women and girls from violence, including criminalising forced marriage as required by the Convention.However, primary legislation will be required to comply with the extra-territorial jurisdiction provisions in Article 44 of the Convention before ratification. The Government is liaising with the devolved administrations about ratification, including any further legislative steps necessary.The Government takes its international commitments very seriously and will only commit to such ratification when we are absolutely satisfied that we comply with all articles. We will continue to lead efforts to tackle violence against women and girls, end Female Genital Mutilation and combat early and forced marriage, both at home and abroad.

Offences against Children: Internet

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) arrests and (b) safeguarding interventions arose from Operation Notarise.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 10 November 2015



Operation NOTARISE is an ongoing, NCA-led, UK-wide operation which has identified and taken law enforcement action against indiviuduals viewing indecent images of children (IIOC). Currently, there have been 745 arrests under NOTARISE with 518 children being safeguarded or protected.

Offences against Children: Internet

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many verified images are currently on the National Hash Set Database; and how many police forces have direct access to that database.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 10 November 2015



The Child Abuse Image Database (CAID) was launched in December 2014 and supersedes the interim National Hash Set Database. All of the hashes relating to Indecent Images of Children from the interim National Hash Set Database managed by Cheshire Constabulary were added to CAID along with hash sets held by other UK law enforcement agencies.CAID contains over four million images. All these images appearing on CAID have an indicative categorisation based on police force grading or ‘votes’. Of these images, at present, fewer than 600,000 have been categorised as having a “trusted grade”. This “trusted grade” is achieved once the image has received three independent, undisputed votes by police forces encountering them. These are therefore the images which have been most reliably assessed as being Indecent Images of Children.The focus this year has been to ensure that all police forces and the National Crime Agency are connected to CAID by the end of this year.

Offences against Children

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department takes to help protect 16 and 17 year olds who are victims of child sexual exploitation.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 10 November 2015



Tackling child sexual exploitation is a top priority for this Government. We have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat in the Strategic Policing Requirement, setting a clear expectation on police forces to collaborate across force boundaries, to safeguard children, to share intelligence and to share best practice.Significant progress has been made since the launch of the “Tackling CSE” report in March 2015. We have delivered the vast majority of a £7 million funding programme to support non statutory organisations that have experienced a surge in demand on their services. This funding is to support the victims and survivors of sexual abuse, including children of all ages.Furthermore, £1.6 million has been provided over four years (April 2012 - March 2016) for 13 Young People’s Advocates providing direct and dedicated support to young people who have been victims, or are at risk of, sexual and domestic violence and/or sexual exploitation. Funding of £1.72 million per year has also been committed to part fund 87 Independent Sexual Violence Advisers posts until March 2016.

Refugees: Syria

Stuart McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian refugees selected for resettlement from UN camps to the UK had previously been selected for resettlement in the US.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 10 November 2015



The Government has committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees in the lifetime of this Parliament. The Prime Minister has said that we want to see 1,000 Syrian refugees brought to the UK by Christmas. We use the established UNHCR process for identifying and resettling refugees and have been working closely with them to achieve a significant uplift in the scheme.The UK collaborates closely with the major countries involved in resettlement, notably the US, Australia and Canada. In the expansion of the UK Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme we have worked with the US Government to take 500 people from the UNHCR’s pool of registered refugees that might otherwise have been passed to the US for consideration. No refugee actually selected for resettlement in the US has been passed to the UK; and all refugees being resettled in the UK have opted for this route.

Police: Hammersmith and Fulham

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the change in the number of police officers in Hammersmith and Fulham as a result of her proposed changes to the Metropolitan Police.

Mike Penning: The Home Office has not made an assessment of future police numbers in Hammersmith and Fulham. The size and distribution of the Metropolitan Police workforce is an operational matter for the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis, working with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime.

Immigration

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to provide (a) humanitarian visas, (b) facilitated refugee family reunion and (c) other safe legal routes for migrants to enter the UK.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Visas: Investment

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of the implications for its policies of the report by Transparency International UK entitled, Gold Rush, published 15 October 2015; if her Department will retrospectively examine what transparency declarations can be required of existing investors who entered the UK on Tier 1 visas; what steps her Department takes to assess whether funds coming into the UK via those visas have been gained illicitly; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of strengthening those measures to address that issue.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Home Office: Public Expenditure

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising in real terms in each year since 2010-11.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Home Office: Public Expenditure

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) the amount of any underspend expected against departmental expenditure limits in the current fiscal year and (b) her Department's latest forecast of total AME spend for this year are; and what the forecasts were for those two sums at the time of the Summer Budget 2015 and March Budget 2015.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Human Trafficking: Fisheries

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ascertain the extent of human trafficking into the fishing industry; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: UK law enforcement agencies cooperate to target human trafficking in the maritime fishing industry. Where potential victims of trafficking (PVOT) are identified, they are referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The number of PVOTs that have been referred to the NRM from the maritime industry in the last 3 years are as follows:2012 -232013 - 62014 - 4In 2014, the Home Office engaged with a range of trade and industry associations to raise awareness of modern slavery, including by developing information leaflets. We engaged with Maritime UK, the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations and Seafish Industry Authority to develop and disseminate the materials.The NCA regularly assesses the threat of Modern Slavery in the UK.

Asylum: EU Law

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have sought asylum in the UK through the Dublin III regulation.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has conducted an investigation into how Demie Omol was able to travel through the UK to the Republic of Ireland; and what steps she is taking to prevent further victims of trafficking being similarly transported by the same agents and through the same routes.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Syria: Refugees

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2015 to Question 14454, what (a) funding and (b) other support the Government has offered UNHCR to identify people for resettlement to date.

Richard Harrington: We recognise that the scaling up of the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme is placing additional demands on UNHCR and have offered them additional support in the form of funding, equipment and seconded personnel, to help with upscaling their resettlement operations. We are currently finalising a support package and will publish details of this once agreed.This assistance is in addition to £122 million we have already allocated to UNHCR’s work in Syria and the region since the start of the crisis.

Danny Major

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with West Yorkshire Police on the review commissioned by the Office of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, and conducted by Greater Manchester Police, into the conviction of Mr Danny Major.

Mike Penning: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Offences against Children

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support she is providing to 16 and 17 year olds who have been victims of child sexual exploitation.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to protect 16 and 17 year olds from child sexual exploitation.

Karen Bradley: Tackling child sexual exploitation is a top priority for this Government. We have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat in the Strategic Policing Requirement, setting a clear expectation on police forces to collaborate across force boundaries, to safeguard children, to share intelligence and to share best practice.Significant progress has been made since the launch of the “Tackling CSE” report in March 2015. We have delivered the vast majority of a £7 million funding programme to support non statutory organisations that have experienced a surge in demand on their services. This funding is to support the victims and survivors of sexual abuse, including children of all ages.Furthermore, £1.6 million has been provided over four years (April 2012 - March 2016) for 13 Young People’s Advocates providing direct and dedicated support to young people who have been victims, or are at risk of, sexual and domestic violence and/or sexual exploitation. Funding of £1.72 million per year has also been committed to part fund 87 Independent Sexual Violence Advisers posts until March 2016.

Exclusion Orders

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what grounds her Department refused entry to the UK to (a) Dr Hasnaa Al Sourani, (b) Dr Amal Shaat, (c) Dr Rula Al Helo and (d) Mr Yousif Abu Rahma; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Counter-terrorism: Convictions

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make available the name, date and description of each counter-terrorism operation in the UK which has resulted in one or more convictions in the last 10 years.

Mr John Hayes: Since 2007 the Crown Prosecution Service has published annual summaries of concluded counter-terrorism cases, including details of the defendants and a summary of the nature of the investigation. These reports can be found at:www.cps.gov.uk/publications/prosecution/ctd.html#a02However, as there may often be a degree of overlap between completed and ongoing investigations the routine disclosure of operation names could prejudice live investigations.

Refugees: Republic of Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold discussions with the government of the Irish Republic on the number of refugees likely to be settled in the Irish Republic who would be eligible to subsequently move to the UK.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Domestic Violence

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of domestic violence were recorded in each county and constituent part of the UK in each of the last five years.

Karen Bradley: The Office for National Statistics publishes data on the number of domestic abuse incidents recorded by the police in England and Wales, at police force level in Focus on: Violent Crime and Sexual Offences 2013/14 - Appendix Table 4.08, available here: www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-violent-crime-and-sexual-offences--2013-14/index.htmlThe increases seen in domestic abuse incidents recorded by the police over this time period is thought to reflect improvements in the identification and recording of these incidents by the police.

Demonstrations: Clothing

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the wearing of masks at demonstrations in public spaces.

Mike Penning: Face coverings can be worn in public places for a variety of legitimate reasons and there are no plans to introduce a blanket ban at demonstrations or other public events. The police already have powers in relation to the wearing of face masks in public order situations under existing legislation.Section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 allows a police officer in uniform, following an authorisation relating to a specified area for a specified time (up to 24 hours initially), to remove or seize anything that he or she considers is being, or could be, worn wholly or mainly for the purposes of concealing identity. This would include all types of face coverings.

Immigration Controls: Calais

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people attempting to enter the UK without valid papers were detained at UK border controls at Calais and returned to the French authorities in the last 12-month period for which figures are available.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish an updated action plan on violence against women and girls.

Karen Bradley: Home Office officials have been working with partners on a refresh of our violence against women and girls strategy. We aim to publish this shortly.

Common Travel Area

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy that the Common Travel Area be maintained in the event that Great Britain and Northern Ireland leave the EU.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Syria

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14380, what (a) number or (b) proportion of referrals under the UNHCR VPR scheme translate into arrivals.

Richard Harrington: We do not have reliable statistics on this at this stage. We are quickly working our way through the referrals received from UNHCR. It is too early to say how many will become arrivals into the UK. However, we have collaborated closely with UNHCR to ensure that those referrals made in the early months of the expanded scheme are likely to be people that can be matched quickly with Local Authority places. More difficult cases might take longer to place.In some instances, refugees choose to withdraw from the scheme, for example, following the death of a family member, marriage or childbirth. Furthermore the Home Office also retains the right to reject individuals on security, war crimes or other grounds.

Refugees: Syria

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average cost to a local authority of taking in a Syrian refugee under the UNHCR VPR scheme in year (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four and (e) five; and how much additional central government funding has been made to local authorities to help meet those costs per refugee for each of those years.

Richard Harrington: The Government has committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees in the lifetime of this Parliament. The Prime Minister has said that we want to see 1,000 refugees brought to the UK by Christmas.The first 12 months of a refugee’s resettlement costs will be funded by central government from the Overseas Development Aid budget. The Government has also committed to providing additional funding to local authorities to assist with costs incurred for years 2 to 5. This funding package forms part of the forthcoming Spending Review and full details will be confirmed shortly.

Refugees: EU Countries

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that refugees can be settled in Europe without making dangerous journeys by boat.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Bermuda: Companies

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of Bermuda's progress in introducing a public register of beneficial ownership since June 2013.

James Duddridge: We have asked the Bermudian authorities to meet the following criteria: a) UK law enforcement and tax authorities must be able to access company beneficial ownership information without restriction, subject to relevant safeguards; b) These competent authorities should be able to quickly identify all companies that a particular beneficial owner has a stake in without needing to submit multiple and repeated requests; and c) Companies or their beneficial owners must not be alerted to the fact that an investigation is underway. We are continuing our dialogue with the Bermudan authorities on this and have offered any technical support that might be required as they develop their proposals My Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond MP), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, met with Premier Dunkley on 26 August in London.

Bermuda: Companies

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take in response to Bermuda's decision to (a) reject the Prime Minister's request to introduce a public register of beneficial ownership and (b) reject the Prime Minister's request to hold a consultation on adopting such a register.

James Duddridge: We have asked the Bermudian authorities to meet the following criteria: a) UK law enforcement and tax authorities must be able to access company beneficial ownership information without restriction, subject to relevant safeguards; b) These competent authorities should be able to quickly identify all companies that a particular beneficial owner has a stake in without needing to submit multiple and repeated requests; and c) Companies or their beneficial owners must not be alerted to the fact that an investigation is underway. We are continuing our dialogue with the Bermudan authorities on this and have offered any technical support that might be required as they develop their proposals My Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond MP), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, met with Premier Dunkley on 26 August in London.

Atrocities Prevention Board

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what contact his Department has had with the US Atrocity Prevention Board.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Sanctions

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many named people from which countries have been subject to UK targeted sanctions in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Families

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to implement the family test.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office promotes the UK’s interests overseas, supporting our citizens and businesses around the globe. As such, we do not have responsibility for creating domestic policy.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Families

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many of his Department's policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps he has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments that have been carried out; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office promotes the UK’s interests overseas, supporting our citizens and businesses around the globe. As such, we do not have responsibility for creating domestic policy.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Public Expenditure

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department spent on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising in real terms in each year since 2010-11.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Zimbabwe: Civil Servants

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13950, what the estimated annual shortfall is in the payment of pensions to former employees of the Southern Rhodesian government.

James Duddridge: As my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps MP), Minister of State at the Department for International Development, set out last week, the Government sympathises with the plight of those former public servants who are entitled to a Zimbabwe government pension. We have not calculated the amounts involved because the UK has no legal obligation or responsibility for these. Responsibility rests with the Zimbabwean government. We continue to remind the relevant authorities in Zimbabwe of this legal commitment.

Crimes Against Humanity

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which Minister in his Department is responsible for atrocity prevention; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14485, whether he has made an assessment of whether aerial bombing of Hayden Hospital in Yemen could represent a breach in international humanitarian law.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Syria: Overseas Aid

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2014 to Question 219424, what financial support the Government has (a) provided since 1 January 2015 and (b) budgeted to provide in the future to support local governance in opposition-controlled areas.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Counter-terrorism

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department's counter-extremism budget was for (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15; and how much has been budgeted for (i) 2015-16 and (ii) future financial years.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Iraq: Christianity

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the number of Christians who have left Iraq in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK Government continues to condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by ISIL in Iraq against all communities, including Christians, throughout the areas under its control. The human rights situation for many living in ISIL-held areas remains of grave concern.We do not currently have estimates for the number of Christians who have fled Iraq due to the atrocities carried out by ISIL. We do, however, continue to encourage Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi to ensure all minorities are represented in Baghdad and their rights protected. We welcome the commitments he has made to inclusivity, to protecting Iraqi citizens, addressing human rights abuses and holding those responsible to account. We continue to engage with minority leaders in Iraq. On Monday 10 November, the Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns met with Father Pios, a Catholic priest sheltering Internally Displaced Persons in Iraq, and she discussed the situation of Christians in the country.

Colombia: Human Rights

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his estimate is of the number of human rights activists and community leaders killed in Colombia during the first eight months of 2015.

Mr Hugo Swire: The latest report from the NGO coalition ‘Somos Defensores’ recorded 51 murders of human rights defenders in the first nine months of 2015, compared to 55 for the whole of 2014 which indicates a worrying upward trend. Despite recent significant developments on the peace process we remain concerned by this increase in violence and threats against human rights defenders there. I again raised the issue of human rights with the Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister, Patti Londono, on 29 September. Officials in London met British NGOs on 9 November, to understand their concerns in greater detail.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Public Expenditure

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department's expenditure against Departmental Expenditure Limits is in 2015-16; and what his Department's Annually Managed Expenditure in 2015-16 was (a) at the time of the March Budget, (b) at the time of the Summer Budget and (c) on 10 November 2015.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Central African Republic: Politics and Government

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) security and (b) political situation in the Central Africa Republic.

James Duddridge: The security situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) is grave. Outside the capital Bangui, violence, looting, hostage-taking and human rights abuses continue to occur with relative impunity. The security situation in Bangui is more stable than the rest of the country, having improved following the surge in violence in late September, but tensions still run high and we continue to advise against all travel to CAR. The political situation is precarious. The transitional government, led by President Catherine Samba-Panza, is being undermined by actors from armed groups and dates for elections have been moved a number of times in the last months. The first round is currently planned for late December 2015, with additional rounds planned for January 2016. Great efforts have been made to register all CAR citizens both in CAR and in refugee camps in neighbouring countries. We expect a deterioration in the political situation, in parallel with the security situation, in the lead up to these elections.

Afghanistan: Foreign Relations

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met (a) the Afghan ambassador to the UK or (b) other representatives of the Afghan government.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) most recently met with Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah at the UN General Assembly in New York on 28 September 2015.The Embassy of Afghanistan in London has been without an Ambassador since 23 March 2015, but Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are in regular contact with Afghan Embassy representatives, including the Chargé d’Affaires Mr Siamak Herawi.

Kurds: Politics and Government

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Kurdistan and the effect this situation has on the threat from Islamic State; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK Government is following the political situation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq closely. Her Majesty's Ambassador in Baghdad and Consul General in Erbil are encouraging Kurdish political leaders to resolve their differences peacefully, in the spirit of compromise and respecting democratic principles. We welcome the major contribution made by the Kurdistan Regional Government and Kurdish people to counter ISIL, and encourage them to continue to unite against this threat.

Nepal: Borders

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Indian government on steps to lift the fuel blockade on Nepal and facilitate the release of humanitarian supplies.

Mr Hugo Swire: I refer my honourable friend to the answer I gave on 10 November 2015 to Question 14391, located at: www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/.In addition to the above answer, our Ambassador to Nepal discussed the blockage at the Nepal-India border in his introductory meeting with the Indian Ambassador to Nepal on 9 November. I also raised the matter with General Vijay Kumar Singh, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, when we spoke in the margins of the Asia-Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers Meeting on 5 November 2015 in Luxembourg.

Luaty Beirão

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government had with the Angolan government on the case of Luaty Beirão while he was on hunger strike in prison.

James Duddridge: The UK continues to follow the case of Luaty Beirão and 14 other activists under arrest in Angola with concern. On 17 October, a British Embassy representative along with representatives from other EU Member State missions and the EU Delegation in Angola visited Mr Beirão at the Clinica Girassol. We and EU partners are calling for due legal process and will continue to raise cases of concern with the Angolan authorities.

Angola: Politics and Government

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what action the Government is taking to support the Angolan government in building capacity to support civil society and freedom of expression.

James Duddridge: We and EU partners have established a human rights dialogue with the Angolan government under the EU-Angola “Joint Way Forward”, which includes support to civil society and promoting freedom of expression. We are also funding work to build human rights capacity in the diamond producing areas of the Lundas and funding training on legal awareness.

Burma: Human Rights

John Mc Nally: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation for religious minorities in Burma.

Mr Hugo Swire: Burma remains a country of concern in our annual Human Rights report. We, therefore, produce biannual updates on the human rights situation, the latest can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/burma-in-year-update-july-2015/burma-in-year-update-july-2015.We have been concerned by the increase in religious intolerance in Burma and the treatment of minority groups, particularly religious miniorities. This has been evidenced starkly in the four discriminatory race and religion laws as well as in the appalling treatment of the Rohingya community in Rakhine State, their disenfranchisement from the 8 November elections, and the rise of Buddhist nationalism, hate speech and anti-Muslim violence. We have raised our concerns about this in detail with the Burmese authorities, both bilaterally, in company with our partners in the EU and in international fora like the UN. We will continue to raise this important issue facing Burma with any incoming government.

India: Diplomatic Service

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many full-time equivalent consular staff were based in (a) India and (b) Gujarat in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: This information is represented below for each of the consular offices that we have in India for each year. Please note that consular cases in Gujarat are covered by our Deputy High Commission in Mumbai.11/1212/1313/1414/1515/16New Delhi66676Mumbai33333Kolkata22222Goa33222Chennai22233

Qatar: Diplomatic Service

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will provide a list of diplomats at Minister-Counsellor rank serving in the Qatar embassy to the United Kingdom (a) currently and (b) for each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

James Duddridge: Until 2014, the London Diplomatic List was published annually, listing diplomats of foreign and Commonwealth countries in London. The information in the the London Diplomatic List is supplied by diplomatic missions and is now available on-line at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-embassies-in-the-uk. FCO records show that two diplomats hold the rank of Minister-Counsellor at the Qatari Embassy in London and have done so since late 2013. According to our records and the LDL there were no Minister-Counsellors at the Qatari Embassy in London from 2010 to November 2013.

Faisal Arefin Dipon

John Mc Nally: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the government of Bangladesh on the murder of Faisal Arefin Dipon.

Mr Hugo Swire: The British Government has been unequivocal in its condemnation of the murder of Faisal Arefin Dipon and in calling for the Bangladesh government to protect those who face threats to their lives because of the views they have expressed. My noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns, our High Commissioner in Dhaka and myself have all expressed our shock at the appalling murder and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and free speech protected.

Syria: Military Intervention

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Russian airstrikes on (a) ISIL/Daesh targets on (b) non-ISIL/Daesh targets in Syria to date.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Northern Ireland Office

Cross Border Cooperation: Republic of Ireland

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on the functioning of the cross-border institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Government remains and will continue to remain fully committed to supporting the principles and institutions established under the Belfast Agreement.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Families

Nic Dakin: To ask the Attorney General, what steps his Department has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.

Jeremy Wright: The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. DWP published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and whenever appropriate the Law Officers’ Departments would follow that guidance.

Attorney General: Families

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Attorney General, what steps his Department is taking to implement the family test; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. DWP published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and whenever appropriate the Law Officers’ Departments would follow that guidance.

Attorney General: Public Expenditure

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of expenditure in (a) 2014-15 prices and (b) as a proportion of total Departmental spending on (i) temporary agency staff, (ii) consultants, (iii) non-payroll staff, (iv) administration and (v) marketing and advertising in each year since 2010-11.

Jeremy Wright: The Attorney General's Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Attorney General: Public Expenditure

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of the amount of expected underspend for his office against departmental expenditure limits in 2015-16.

Jeremy Wright: The Departmental Expenditure Limit for HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor includes the Government Legal Department (GLD), the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI). The estimated underspend against the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit is £2.69m. Total expenditure is estimated to be £190m.GLD sets its fees and fee rates at the beginning of the year with the aim of achieving full cost recovery and in line with HM Treasury guidance Managing Public Money. In setting the fees and fee rate judgements about volumes of work, the impact of inflation, and cost are made and as a result it is normal for there to be a variance.

Trials: Per Capita Costs

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2015 to Question 11888, for what reason the (a) prosecution cost per defendant and (b) overall spend per completed case has increased since 2010-11.

Jeremy Wright: The increase in (a) average prosecution cost per defendant and (b) overall spend per completed case reflects the significant change in the caseload mix since 2010-11.For example, the prosecution of low level traffic offences has been transferred to the police since 2010-11, leading to a fall of 61.1% in motoring cases. A rising proportion of the CPS workload is now geared towards larger and more complex cases, including non-recent sexual abuse cases.The average costs are also unadjusted for inflation. If average costs for each prior year were all restated in terms of 2014-15 prices, then they would all be increased accordingly.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Gratuities

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what meetings he has had with (a) the Low Pay Commission, (b) Which? and (c) members of the Trade Union Congress to discuss the payment and administration of service charges, tips, gratuities and cover charges on the income of employees.

Nick Boles: The Government’s Call for Evidence into tips, gratuities, cover and service charges closed on 10 November 2015. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has received formal or informal evidence from the named bodies. Where any clarification is required or the Government wishes to seek further information, we will request further discussions with these bodies, where appropriate.

Consumer Protection Measures in the Ticket Resale Market Review

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2015 to Question 12304, on consumer protection measure, what the names are of the main stakeholders who were alerted to the call for evidence; when those stakeholders were altered; and how those stakeholders were alerted.

Nick Boles: These stakeholders were notified by email on 13 October 2015:Academy Music GroupAdvertising Standards AuthorityAll England Lawn Tennis ClubAssociation of Leading Visitor AttractionsAEG WorldwideAgents AssociationAndrew Bingham MPArts & Business ScotlandArts Council EnglandArts Council of Northern IrelandArts Council of WalesAssociation of Chief Trading Standards OfficersAssociation of Festival OrganisersAssociation of Independent FestivalsAssociation of Independent MusicAssociation of Secondary Ticket AgentsAssociation of Show and Agricultural OrganisationsBaroness Grey ThompsonBaroness HayterBaroness Heyhoe FlintBirmingham HippodromeBritish Association of Concert HallsBrighton CentreBritish Arts Festival AssociationBritish Boxing Board of ControlBritish CyclingBritish Phonographic IndustryBusiness in Sport and LeisureCardiff International Arena (Motorpoint Arena)Chartered Trading Standards InstituteCinema Exhibitors AssociationCitizens AdviceCity of London PoliceCompetition and Markets AuthorityCBIConcert Promoters AssociationCreative ScotlandeBay UK LtdDavid Morris MPDirect Selling AssociationEngland and Wales Cricket BoardEngland Rugby UnionEquityEuropean Arenas AssociationEuropean CommissionEuropean Secondary Ticketing AssociationEvent Industry NewsFan FreedomFederation of Small BusinessesFestival RepublicFestivals EdinburghFootball AssociationFootball Supporters FederationGreater London AssemblyHistoric Houses AssociationHistoric Royal PalacesIncorporated Society of MusiciansInternational Live Music ConferenceLawn Tennis AssociationLive NationLive UKLiverpool Echo ArenaLocal Government AssociationLord AddingtonLord BorwickLord Clement-JonesLord MoynihanLord StonehamLord YoungerManchester ArenaMark Garnier MPMark Pritchard MPMastercardMillennium Stadium plcMotor Sports AssociationMusicians UnionNational Campaign for the ArtsNational Operatic and Dramatic AssociationNational Police Chiefs’ CouncilNational TheatreNational Trading Standards BoardNEC GroupNick Smith MPNigel Adams MPNOISE FestivalPaypalPenny Mordaunt MPPremier LeaguePremiership RugbyRacecourse AssociationRicoh ArenaRoyal Albert HallRoyal Horticultural SocietyRoyal Opera HouseRoyal ParksRoyal Shakespeare CompanyRugby Football LeagueRugby Football UnionSadler’s WellsSage GatesheadSeatwaveSee TicketsSharon Hodgson MPSociety of London TheatreSound DiplomacySouthbank CentreSport and Recreation AllianceSport EnglandSport Northern IrelandSport ScotlandSport WalesSports Rights GroupSTAR (Secure Tickets from Authorised Retailers)Stephen McPartland MPStubhubSupporters DirectThe Federation of Scottish TheatreTicketmaster UKTrading Standards InstituteTrading Standards ScotlandUK Cards AssociationUK MusicUK SportUK Theatre AssociationViagogoVisaVisit BritainWelsh GovernmentWembley ArenaWhich?

Consumer Protection Measures in the Ticket Resale Market Review

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2015 to Question 12304, what the names are of the main stakeholders who the Government consulted on the terms of reference of the Review into Secondary Ticketing Market.

Nick Boles: The following stakeholders were invited to provide input:All England Lawn Tennis ClubAssociation of Leading Visitor AttractionsCBICompetition and Markets AuthorityeBay UK Ltd (StubHub)England and Wales Cricket BoardEngland Rugby Football UnionEuropean Commission Representation in the UKFan FreedomLawn Tennis AssociationNorthern Ireland ExecutiveParliamentRoyal Opera HouseScottish GovernmentSociety of London TheatreSport and Recreation AllianceSTAR (Secure Tickets from Authorised Retailers)TicketmasterUK MusicViagogoWelsh GovernmentWhich?

Pregnant Women: Discrimination

Stuart McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which organisations he has met to discuss the findings of the research study into pregnancy discrimination in the workplace published by his Department and the Equality and Human Rights Commission on 24 July 2015.

Nick Boles: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has not held any meetings with external stakeholders to discuss the findings of the research study into pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination. Officials from the Department have participated in round table meetings with stakeholders which have been organised by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). These meetings, and the research findings, will inform the EHRC’s recommendations to Government.Pregnancy and maternity discrimination is unlawful and unacceptable, which is why the Government and the EHRC jointly funded independent research into the perceived problem. This is the largest research of its kind to be undertaken in Great Britain. Interim findings were published in July 2015 and can be found at: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/publication/pregnancy-and-maternity-related-discrimination-and-disadvantage-first-findings-surveys-employers-and-0The final report is due to be published later this year, and will inform the Government’s response.

Small Businesses

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to promote Small Business Saturday.

Anna Soubry: The Department is fully supportive of the Small Business Saturday campaign and recognises the role it plays in highlighting the importance of small businesses to their local area and the UK as a whole.This is the third year we have worked with Small Business Saturday. I attended the UK campaign launch event on July 16th and support is being co-ordinated across government to further promote the campaign in the run up to December 5th.

Trade Agreements

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the (a) Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and (b) Trade in Services Agreement will be subject to a vote in the House following Parliamentary scrutiny.

Anna Soubry: We expect the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) will be mixed agreements covering areas of both EU and Member State competence. In that case, they will be subject to agreement by each EU Member State, the EU Council and the European Parliament. As part of this process the agreements will be laid before Parliament for scrutiny before they are ratified by the UK. After political agreement is reached on the text of TTIP and TiSA and it has been established that these will be mixed agreements, we will confirm the procedures for Parliamentary approval.

Apprentices

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what level of spending will be required from (a) the Government, (b) other public sector bodies and (c) private employers to create three million quality apprenticeships by 2020.

Nick Boles: The budget for apprenticeships in England is demand-led and the level of spending responds to local employer and learner demand. Apprenticeships are jobs with training – availability is determined by employers offering opportunities.The Government is introducing a UK-wide levy for all larger employers in the public and private sector to help fund the increase in quantity and quality of apprenticeship training. This levy will put employers in charge of how apprenticeship budgets are spent by creating a fund which they can use to pay for the cost of external training for their apprentices.Further details on the rate and scope of the levy will be set out by my Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the autumn Spending Review.

Business: Regulation

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to publish the report of the Cutting Red Tape programme.

Anna Soubry: The Cutting Red Tape programme has completed the evidence gathering stage for the six reviews launched earlier this year. The programme is now working with the responsible departments and regulators to understand the scale of potential savings, and to support them in developing next steps which respond to the findings of the reviews. The Government’s next steps will be to publish the review findings and associated responses in the New Year.The programme is also running an open call for evidence for future reviews via its Twitter account @CutRedTapeUK and #CutRedTape, and its website https://cutting-red-tape.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/

UK Trade and Investment: India

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many full-time equivalent UKTI staff in his Department were based in (a) India and (b) Gujarat in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: UKTI-funded full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in India and Gujarat were as follows:2015 - 90 UKTI FTE in India, of which 2 in Ahmedabad (Gujarat)2014 - 86 UKTI FTE in India, of which 2 in Ahmedabad (Gujarat)2013 - 87.2 UKTI FTE in India, of which 2 in Ahmedabad (Gujarat)2012- 86.5 UKTI FTE in India, of which 2 in Ahmedabad (Gujarat)2011- 83.85 UKTI FTE in India, of which 2 in Ahmedabad (Gujarat)Under UKTI’s sector and project based approach, opportunities in Gujurat are supported by UKTI’s wider teams in India, as well as through links to experts and support in the FCO and in UKTI’s UK based networks.

Further Education: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when post-16 education in Warrington is planned to be reviewed under the area review process; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles: All colleges in England will be subject to an Area Review. The timing of individual areas will be published in due course once they have been agreed by the National Area Review Steering Group. We have said that we will announce the area reviews in a series of waves, decisions on which area will be included in each wave will take account of a number of factors including whether colleges are deemed to be at financial risk.We expect reviews to last 3-4 months based on our early experiences, and we anticipate they will all be completed by March 2017.

Apprentices

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what targets he has set for the creation of numbers of apprenticeships between now and 2020.

Nick Boles: We are committed to 3 million apprenticeship starts in England and will ensure they deliver the skills employers and the economy need for growth.The locations and sectors where apprenticeships are available are determined by employers choosing to offer opportunities – so our aim is to create the conditions for employers to offer more apprenticeships. So that the public sector plays a full part in delivering more apprenticeships, we are taking forward legislation on targets for public bodies in relation to apprenticeships in England.Through the Welfare Reform and Work Bill we are legislating to report annually on progress towards meeting the 3 million. This duty will be a clear statement to reconfirm Government’s commitment to that policy ambition, as well as ensuring transparency on progress.Apprenticeships policy is a devolved matter and it is for the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to determine how they manage their own programmes. However, we recognise the value of an aligned approach to apprenticeships across the United Kingdom, particularly for employers with staff in more than one area.

Fireworks

Nigel Huddleston: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of further restrictions on the use and sale of fireworks.

Anna Soubry: Restrictions on the sale and use of fireworks already exist under the Fireworks Regulations 2004 and the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015. The majority of people have a sensible and responsible attitude to fireworks and, on balance, I do not believe that further restrictions on their use would be necessary or proportionate.

Prisons: Education

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many different (a) GCSE, (b) A-level and (c) NVQ subjects are available for prisoners to study through the Prison Service.

Nick Boles: The Skills Funding Agency’s Learning Aim Reference Service (LARS) database https://hub.imservices.org.uk/Pages/default.aspx provides a search facility for all fundable qualifications by learning aim, by academic year, including those fundable through the Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) arrangements in adult prisons in England. All GCSE and A Levels subjects are available, alongside nearly 3,000 vocational qualifications covering all 15 current sector subject (‘NVQ’) areas.In principle, learning towards any of those qualifications can be commissioned by the prison Governor when developing their establishment’s curriculum offer, though some subjects and qualifications may be excluded on grounds of practicality, and the availability of other subjects and qualifications may be restricted on an individual basis depending on the nature of the learner’s offence.

Department for International Development

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to (a) increase the provision of humanitarian aid in Yemen and (b) ensure that that aid gets to where it is most needed.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Increasing the provision of humanitarian aid to Yemen and ensuring that aid gets to those most in need has been one of the UK’s top priorities for Yemen:In July the Foreign and Development Secretaries wrote to international donors to raise the profile of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and encourage more funding to the response.On 28 September, the Development Secretary co-hosted a side event on Yemen’s humanitarian crisis at UNGA, at which donors (including the UK) pledged an additional $129 million to Yemen. The Co-Chairs statement from the meeting can be found here: http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/co-chairs-statement-ministerial-yemen-meeting-monday-28-september-2015.The UK has also worked closely with the King Salman Humanitarian Centre and the UN to ensure Saudi Arabia’s generous $274 million pledge to the UN Flash Appeal was delivered by September this year.The UK has also announced £75 million to respond to the crisis in Yemen.We work with trusted and impartial actors who have a strong record of prioritising assistance to those most in need and delivering assistance in difficult and dangerous places. We continue to call on all parties to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered access to all people in need in Yemen; to safeguard key infrastructure, including airports, sea ports, fuel distribution sites and major access routes into Yemen; and to respect the importance of ensuring humanitarian aid is not politicised and goes to the neediest. We will continue to support the UN and NGO partners’ efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance effectively.

Developing Countries: Sustainable Development

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the reasons why only 37 per cent of the millennium development goals in the UK's 28 priority countries have been marked as met or will be met in her Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2014-15.

Grant Shapps: The majority of DFID’s priority countries are fragile or conflict-affected. These states have historically been under supported by the international development community. DFID increased its focus and spend in fragile states in 2010 and it was right to do so.Progress against the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is driven by the collective action of developing countries and all development partners. DFID’s development programmes are designed to contribute towards these goals.DFID’s ongoing Bilateral Aid Review will assess and review progress towards the MDGs as part of our strategic planning processes to inform future programming.

Developing Countries: Food

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance and support her Department is providing to food sovereignty movements in developing countries; and if she will make a statement.

Grant Shapps: DFID supports strengthening household food security through improving agricultural productivity and improved incomes from agricultural production, building resilience against climate change and linking smallholder farmers to markets and supply chains. We help with a context-specific range of programmes, which all contribute to the inclusive and more sustainable economic growth that will lift poor people out of poverty.The UK Government believes that a key element in strengthening food security is to encourage diverse sources of supply. We will not support approaches that undermine open markets and free trade, which allows consumer choice and options for a healthier diet, and so does not specifically support food sovereignty movements in developing countries.

Asian Development Bank

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which funding proposals were approved (a) in general and (b) for Sri Lanka by the Asian Development Bank in each of the last three years; whether the Government voted in favour of any of those proposals; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The Asian Development Bank considers many hundreds of funding proposals each year. The UK decides on its voting position taking account of development impact and value for money. We are ready to vote in favour of projects where they meet the required standards.To see a full list of approved Asian Development Bank projects and operations please follow this link: http://www.adb.org/projects. The Asian Development Bank also publishes the minutes of board meetings where funding decisions are taken, which record the position of the Executive Directors. To see the minutes please follow this link:http://www.adb.org/about/board-minutes.

World Bank

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which funding proposals have been approved by the World Bank in each of the last three years; whether the Government voted against any of those proposals; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The World Bank considers many hundreds of funding proposals each year. The UK decides on its voting position taking account of development impact and value for money. We are ready to vote against projects where they do not meet the required standards.To see a full list of approved World Bank projects and operations please follow this link: http://www.worldbank.org/projects. The World Bank also publishes the minutes of board meetings where funding decisions are taken, which record the position of the Executive Directors. To see the minutes please follow this link: http://web.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=986613&pagePK=64272881&piPK=64272902&theSitePK=278036&toDate=sysdate

Indonesia: Forests

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to her Department's summary of its work in Indonesia 2011-15, published in June 2013, how many hectares of natural forest have been saved since the programme to protect forests in that country started.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Our programme with Indonesia helps it to achieve low carbon growth and reduce poverty by managing its forests, land and natural resources in a sustainable way, and assists the country to meet its emissions targets. As part of this the UK supported the development of a Provincial Spatial Plan in Papua which was agreed in 2013. The spatial plan commits to preserving 90% of forest cover by 2100. The UK is providing support to the Papua Provincial Government to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of the Spatial Plan. If this target of 90% is realised, the spatial plan will preserve around 28 million hectares of natural forest. As with all projects, performance against indicators is published on an annual basis. Multilateral forest programmes, which the UK supports through the World Bank, and a centrally-managed programme, which assists the Indonesian government to tackleillegal logging, also contribute towards efforts to halt deforestation in Indonesia.

World Food Programme

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14770, when she plans to publish the contribution the UK will make to the World Food Programme for 2016.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK is currently the second largest donor to the WFP, after the United States. For 2015, the UK has so far provided a total of £270.6million in funding to WFP. UK contributions are made up of unearmarked core funding (£40m in total for the financial year 2015/16) and bilateral funding allocated by DFID country offices (which represents the biggest proportion of UK funding).DFID will be in a position to announce the UK core contribution to WFP for the financial year 2016 / 2017 once the Multilateral Aid Review 2015 (MAR 2015) is published in March 2016. UK core contribution will be informed by the results of the MAR assessment of WFP and the review of WFP performance and effectiveness in using the core funding provided by UK.Bilateral funding is decided by DFID at country level and is based on needs.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Families

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of her Department's policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps she has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments that have been carried out; and if she will make a statement.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to implement the family test.

Edward Timpson: The family test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. The Department for Work and Pensions published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy which can be found online[1]. The Department for Education follows this guidance.The family test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policies in line with the family test guidance.As stated in the guidance, there is no requirement to publish family test assessments. The Department has published the outcome of such assessments on a number of occasions, including as part of the impact assessments of the Childcare Bill[2] and the Education and Adoption Bill[3].[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-test-assessing-the-impact-of-policies-on-families[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childcare-bill-impact-assessment[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-and-adoption-bill-impact-assessment

Teachers: Training

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2015 to Question 14021, how many new teachers were trained in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The latest historical information on recruitment of new initial teacher trainees can be found in the ITT Census online at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-teacher-training

Schools

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of additional schools that will be needed to accommodate the predicted population rise over the next 25 years; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: Pupil forecasts based on ONS population projections have been made out to 2024 and they suggest that pupil numbers are due to rise significantly over that period. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient schools to meet that need, and for determining precisely how many new schools are needed in their area.We allocate funding for new school places to local authorities three years in advance in order to balance the need for robust forecasts and to ensure certainty for local authorities over their future funding allocations.Providing this funding to support local authorities in creating additional school places is one of the Government’s top priorities. This is signalled by the £7 billion that this Government has committed to spend on new places over the course of this Parliament; as well as the £5 billion that the previous Coalition Government invested in school places between 2011 and 2015 (more than double the £1.9 billion spent between 2007 and 2011).

Special Educational Needs

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations she has received from local authorities on the time taken to implement Education Health Care Plans.

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the time taken to introduce Education Health Care Plans; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: Special Educational Needs (SEN) advisers within the Department are in regular contact with local authorities, to provide them with support as they implement our reforms to the system for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.These reforms were introduced in September 2014. Since October 2013, local authorities and parents have taken part in termly surveys, to provide their views on the preparation and implementation of these reforms. These surveys asked for feedback on various issues, such as the transition of children and young people with SEN statements; learning difficulty assessments (LDAs); Education, Health, and Care Plans; and the introduction of EHC Plans more generally.In response to this feedback, the Department announced a change to the transition arrangements on 10 July 2015. From 1 September 2015, a local authority has 18 weeks, following a notice period of two weeks, to conclude a transfer review, when considering whether to replace an SEN statement with an EHC Plan. This maximum time limit has been extended from 14 weeks. The Department has also provided support for local areas in managing this transition process: this support includes a series of regional workshops in September and October 2015, led by DfE SEN advisers.Local authorities have until 1 April 2018 to conclude transitions from SEN statements to EHC plans for all children in their area. Young people in further education and training who receive support as a result of an LDA can choose to request an EHC needs assessment. All young people who receive support as a result of an LDA, who will continue in further education or training beyond 1 September 2016, must have an EHC plan by that date, where one is needed.We continue to monitor progress with implementation.

Schools: Building Alterations

William Wragg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that local education authorities do not specify the designs of building extensions when attributing funding from the Education Funding Agency to schools for building projects, as in relation to the case of Greave Primary School in Hazel Grove.

William Wragg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations she has received from representatives of Greave Primary School on the process through which the funding for that school's building extension project from the Education Funding Agency has been arranged by the Stockport Local Education Authority.

Edward Timpson: School building baseline designs were introduced in October 2012 to help finalise briefs for school building projects and for discussion with local planning departments. It is for contractors to develop them into detailed schemes, or propose alternatives. Guidance on the designs is available online[1].Officials from the Department have had regular dialogue with the local authority, the school and its representatives as part of ongoing work to monitor and progress the project.While there has been no representation, the Secretary of State and the Department will work with all parties to support the successful delivery of this school’s expansion project.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/baseline-designs-for-schools-guidance

Department for Education: Families

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure the routine use by her Department of the family test; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: The family test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. The Department for Work and Pensions published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and the Department for Education follows that guidance, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-test-assessing-the-impact-of-policies-on-familiesThe family test is an integral part of the policy making process. It is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the family test guidance. As a result potential impacts of policy on family functioning and relationships have been identified and brought to the attention of Ministers where appropriate, and as part of the normal process of agreeing policy.

Department for Education: Public Expenditure

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising (i) in 2014-15 prices and (ii) as a proportion of her Department's expenditure in each year since 2010-11.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education’s accounts can be found online at GOV.UK. The 2014-15 data is not due for publication until January 2016. The relevant links are as follows:2013-14: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/397024/DfE_consolidated_annual_report_and_accounts_2013_to_2014.pdfPlease refer to relevant pages: SOCNE page 103, staff note page 122, admin note page126, and programme note page 127.2012-13: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/275186/DFE_Group_Consolidated_12-13_ARA.pdfPlease refer to relevant pages: SOCNE page 94 staff note, page 119 admin note page 123, and programme note page 124.2011-12: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/175362/Annual_Report_and_Accounts_11_12.pdfPlease refer to relevant pages: SOCNE page 68, staff note page 87, admin note page 90, programme note page 91.2010-11: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/193544/HC_983.pdfPlease refer to relevant pages: SOCNE page 66, staff note page 81, admin note page 83, programme note page 84.

Department for Education: Public Expenditure

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's forecast expenditure against Departmental Expenditure Limits is in 2015-16; and what her Department's forecast Annually Managed Expenditure in 2015-16 was (a) at the time of the March Budget, (b) at the time of the Summer Budget and (c) on 10 November 2015.

Nick Gibb: The forecasts of Department expenditure against Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) and Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) at the time of the March 2015 budget are published in the Main Supply Estimate 2015-16. The detail is published by HM Treasury and is available on GOV.UK at: Main Supply Estimates 2015 to 2016 - Publications - GOV.UKThe Department does not publish the in-year forecast expenditure information requested at parts (b) and (c) of the question. HM Treasury do however publish the department’s monthly spending for both DEL and AME every quarter. The latest data covering April, May and June 2015 can also be found on GOV.UK at: OSCAR – publishing data from the database: September 2015 - Publications - GOV.UK

Truancy: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many parents in Ashfield have been fined for a child's unauthorised absence from school in each of the last three years.

Nick Gibb: We do not collect data on the number of penalty notices (fines) issued to parents for offences relating to Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996 by constituency. The numbers of penalty notices issued to parents by Nottinghamshire County Council can be found online here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/parental-responsibility-measures-academic-year-2012-to-2013

Offences against Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what involvement her Department has had in the grant originally made available to the Pioneer Communities Project that was administered through her Department.

Edward Timpson: No grant funding was made available by the Department for Education to support the Pioneer Communities Project.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Tobacco

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what account his Department took of the experience of attempting to exclude illegal drugs from prisons when formulating its ban on tobacco in prisons.

Andrew Selous: In my written statement of 22 October, I announced plans for roll out of a smoke free estate.The introduction of voluntary smoke free areas in all closed prisons mirrors the provision of drug free wings which exist in many establishments across the estate. Staff and prisoners will be able to elect to work or reside in a smoke free area and they will be supported within them. It is a short term measure which provides a proportionate response to the impact of second hand smoke in communal areas.In line with Public Health England (PHE) guidance, the importance and significance placed upon the provision of smoking cessation services is critical to our approach. Prisoners with drug problems are currently managed via a balance of medicated maintenance and abstinence based treatment. We will adopt this approach to smoke free. Vaping and the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) as an alternative to tobacco smoking are supported by PHE as a harm reduction tool. Research commissioned by PHE concluded that e-cigarettes can help smokers to stop smoking. E -cigarettes have been made available to prisoners and their use is allowed in designated areas. In addition a range of nicotine replacement products and smoking cessation support will be in place to support prisoners attempting to abstain.The Government is committed to reducing the supply of drugs into prison. NOMS already deploys a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison. In addition, each prison has a dynamic Local Searching Strategy which identifies and mitigates known supply routes.The success of the strategy is illustrated by the reduction of drug misuse in prisons, as measured by the random Mandatory Drug Testing (MDT) programme, which has declined by 17.5 percentage points over the past 17 years.This approach to enforcement and security will inform NOMS thinking where appropriate as we move forward to smoke free prisons.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to answer Question 12150, on HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Procurement, tabled by the hon. Member for Hammersmith on 15 October 2015.

Mr Shailesh Vara: I refer the Honourable member to the answer given to question 12150 on 06 November 2015.This can be found at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-10-15/12150/

Taxis: Guide Dogs

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many taxi and private hire drivers have been fined for refusing to take an assistance dog in each quarter of the last five years.

Andrew Selous: The table below sets out the number of taxi and private hire drivers who have been fined for refusing to take an assistance dog in each year since 2011. The Ministry of Justice does not collect this data on a quarterly basis.These offences are recorded under a miscellaneous offence grouping, which it is only possible to separately analyse from centrally held data from 2011 onwards.Offenders sentenced at all courts for selected offences under the Equality Act 2010, England and Wales, 2011 to 2014 (1)(2)Section of ActOffence descriptionOutcome2011201220132014Section 168Assistance dogs in taxisSentenced-111of whichFine-111Section 170 (1)Refusal to accept booking for private hire vehicle on basis of disabled person being accompanied by an assistance dogSentenced2333of whichFine1332Section 170 (2)Imposing an additional charge for carrying an assistance dogSentenced--11of whichFine--11'-' = Nil(1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.Ref: PQ 15319

Trials: Costs

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average cost to the public purse of a vacated trial in (a) Magistrates' courts and (b) the Crown Court.

Mr Shailesh Vara: HMCTS is unable to provide the information requested, as this information is not held.

Criminal Proceedings: Fees and Charges

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2015 to Question 14487, whether revenue received from the criminal courts charge have exceeded the cost to the public purse of running such courts since that charge was introduced.

Mr Shailesh Vara: As the Justice Secretary stated in the house on 3 November, “it is right that we find better ways to pay the costs of running our criminal courts, and the introduction of this charge has made it possible to recover some of the costs from offenders, which reduces the burden on taxpayers. The Government are, of course, keeping the operation of the criminal courts charge under review.”

Trials: Costs

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 11884, what estimate he has made of the total cost to the public purse of vacated trials due to the prosecution in each year since 2010-11; and how many and what proportion of trials were (a) ineffective and (b) cracked in (i) Magistrates' courts and (ii) the Crown Court for reasons related to the prosecution in each year since 2010-11.

Mr Shailesh Vara: HMCTS is unable to provide information on the cost of trials vacated for reasons related to the prosecution.Figures on ineffective, vacated and cracked trials, including the reasons for these, are published quarterly at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics in tables M3, M4, C3 and C4.Figures on the number and proportion of vacated trials in magistrates courts for reasons related to the prosecution since 2010/11 are in Table 1, and those for Crown Courts are in Table 2.



Crown & maigstrate vacated trials
(Excel SpreadSheet, 20.24 KB)

Prisons: Drones

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drones carrying contraband goods have been seized within prison grounds in each of the last three years.

Andrew Selous: There were no reported incidents of drones carrying contraband being seized within prisons in 2013; in 2014 there were two reported incidents; and between 1 January 2015 and 31 October 2015 there were eight reported incidents.This Government has made it a criminal offence under the Prison Act 1952 to throw, or otherwise project, any article of substance into prison without authorisation. This includes the use of a drone.These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken for a disability benefit appeal to reach a tribunal in Birmingham.

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will collect statistics on waiting times for disability benefit appeals to reach tribunal to ensure that such cases are not subject to delays.

Mr Shailesh Vara: HMCTS is unable to provide the information requested as it is not held centrally.Information about the timeliness of SSCS appeals is published by the Ministry of Justice in the Tribunal and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics Quarterly. The most recent report (for the period April to June 2015, published on 10 September 2015) can be viewed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2015.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Electoral Register: Freedom of Information

Louise Haigh: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued to returning officers on responding to requests under the Freedom of Information Act for statistics on electoral registration.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission issues guidance to Electoral Registration Officers on registration matters. Electoral Registration Officers are not a public authority under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and, as such, are exempt from the disclosure requirements imposed by it.However, in its guidance manual for Electoral Registration Officers, the Commission advises that, where possible, Electoral Registration Officers should disclose the requested information, provided it is already in the public domain or does not include personal data. The total number of electors registered in their area is a specific example provided in the manual of statistical data that could be disclosed.Following specific requests and enquiries from political parties, the Commission, in a Bulletin issued to electoral practitioners on 26 June of this year, further advised that Electoral Registration Officers could disclose statistical information relating to those electors in their area who were not registered individually.

Electoral Register: Freedom of Information

Louise Haigh: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has received from the Government on providing the latest electoral registration statistics in response to Freedom of Information requests.

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission has received no specific guidance from the Government in relation to the Freedom of Information Act, although it is aware of the general guidance produced by both Government and the Information Commissioner’s Office regarding the Act and the handling of requests.

Prime Minister

UN Climate Change Conference

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Prime Minister, whether he plans to attend the COP21 climate talks in Paris.

Mr David Cameron: I will attend the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Paris.I will meet world leaders to help lay the groundwork for an ambitious new global deal to address climate change. A global deal is the only way we can deliver the scale of action required to keep limiting the global temperature rise to below 2 degrees within reach. An ambitious agreement will help drive a global, irreversible, transformational shift to a low carbon economy which will promote innovation and drive down the costs of low carbon technology, further enabling cost effective climate action and mitigation ambition in the future. It will also help to create a more competitive, stable and transparent framework and opportunity for business and investors.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Bookmakers

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will undertake an evaluation of the effectiveness of the self-exclusion pilot schemes introduced by bookmakers in Medway and Glasgow.

Tracey Crouch: Evaluation into the effectiveness of the self-exclusion pilot schemes introduced by bookmakers in Medway and Glasgow is being carried out by the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB). From April 2016 all bookmakers will have to offer self exclusion schemes as part of a condition of their licence andlessons from these pilot schemes will feed into the final model adopted by the bookmaking sector. The Gambling Commission will be responsible for ensuring compliance with this new licence condition and the Government will take an active interest in the schemes effectiveness.

Gambling

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has held with the Senet Group on gambling addiction; and if he will make a statement.

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department will use advertising to highlight the negative effects of gambling.

Tracey Crouch: I have had several meetings with groups and individuals concerned about the negative effects of gambling, and have made clear to the industry that it must continue to demonstrate it is taking action to mitigate the risk ofgambling related harm.Last year, the Governmentannounced a range of player protection measures including a £2 million programme funded by industry to promote responsible gambling, and the Senet group formed in 2014 promote responsible gambling standards, have overseen a range of measures, including a commitment from its members who cover around 80% of Britishlicensedbetting offices - todedicate 20% of shop window advertising to responsible gambling messages, and a TV campaign earlier the year to educate people about the risks of problem gambling.

Gambling: Taxation

George Kerevan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to secure a fair contribution from offshore digital betting operators to the 55th levy scheme.

Tracey Crouch: The statutory Horserace BettingLevy Scheme does not cover offshore digital betting operators, although some operators supplement the statutory scheme with voluntarycontributions.

Horse Racing: Betting

George Kerevan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress he has made on and what the timescale is for implementation of a Horserace Betting Right as a replacement for the Horserace Betting Levy.

Tracey Crouch: Work is continuing on the detailed policy design of the Horserace Betting Right.

Gaming Machines

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of £100 a spin fixed odds betting terminal gaming machines on areas of social deprivation and vulnerable people and their families.

Tracey Crouch: New legislation came into force in April to improve player protections on B2 gaming machines (commonly referred to as ‘fixed-odds betting terminals’). Officials in my department are in the process of conducting an evaluation into these measures and I will publish the results in due course.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Families

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many of his Department's policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps he has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments that have been carried out; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. DWP published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and my Department follows that guidance-Family Test GuidanceThe Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance. While the guidance states that departments should consider publishing assessments carried out under the Test, there is no requirement to do so.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Families

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to implement the family test.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. DWP published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and my Department follows that guidance-Family Test GuidanceThe Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance. While the guidance states that departments should consider publishing assessments carried out under the Test, there is no requirement to do so.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Families

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Officials in my Department have liaised with DWP as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it into the policy process. Thiscould includetraining officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice.

ICT: Skilled Workers

Ruth Smeeth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of whether the UK  has enough qualified IT specialists to meet the IT requirements of businesses in the UK.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government is committed to addressing the rising demand for IT specialists and creating a strong digital skills talent pool. Action is being taken across education and training, from the introduction of the new school computing curriculum, to a range of new employer designed apprenticeship standards for digital roles, and the innovative digital degree apprenticeships that started in September.

Digital Technology: Productivity

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish a Digital Transformation Plan.

Mr Edward Vaizey: As part of the Government's Productivity Plan, we are developing a cross-Government Digital Transformation Plan that will be published in due course. This will set out how we will support theadoption of digital technologies andtackle the barriers to new businesses entering and creating new markets.

Sports: Defibrillators

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to increase the accessibility of defibrillators for sports clubs.

Tracey Crouch: We take player safety in all sportsseriously, and it was one of the main themes of the recent sports strategy consultation.DCMS is considering the responses and the new strategy document will be published in due course.

Broadband: Cheshire

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of homes and businesses that will not benefit from the roll-out of superfast broadband in each of the 11 Cheshire parliamentary constituencies.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government's is committed to achieving the availability of superfast broadband to 95% of UK premises by December 2017. Broadband Delivery UK’s (BDUK) modelled estimates of the currently planned superfast broadband coverage for the 11 Cheshire constituencies predict 96% coverage, and are set out in the table below. These estimates are based on modelled coverage at the end of the Connected Cheshire Phase 2 project. Further coverage will be possible through additional funding sources including the gainshare funding that BT have offered in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved.As you will be aware the Prime Minister recently announced the Government’sintention to introduce a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) by 2020. The USO will be demand-led and will give people a legal right to request anaffordable connection to broadband of a minimum specified speed, from adesignated provider, no matter where they live, up to a reasonable cost threshold. This reflects that many people now see broadband as a basic service similar to thepost and telephone.ConstituencyTotalPlanned Coverage (%)City of Chester Constituency46,65297%Congleton Constituency44,26996%Crewe and Nantwich Constituency49,98497%Eddisbury Constituency39,29389%Ellesmere Port and Neston Constituency41,63699%Halton Constituency44,73998%Macclesfield Constituency45,19895%Tatton Constituency40,59295%Warrington North Borough Constituency44,77098%Warrington South Borough Constituency50,65698%Weaver Vale Constituency40,41197%Total488,20096%

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Families

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to implement the family test; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Officials in my Department have liaised with DWP as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it and encourage routine use of the Test. Thiscould includetraining officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevantevidence, learning materials and best practice.

Department for Work and Pensions

Pensions

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how changes made as a result of the Pension Act 2011 were communicated to people affected.

Justin Tomlinson: Following the 2011 changes, which brought about faster equalisation of men’s and women’s State Pension ages and accelerated the timetable for the rise to 66, DWP wrote to all individuals directly affected to inform them of the change to their State Pension age, using the address details recorded by HMRC at the time.In addition, the State Pension age equalisation changes were built into the State Pension statement IT system; introduced in 2001. Therefore, statements produced on request using this system would have included women’s new State Pension ages as determined by the 1995 Pensions Act and the 2011 Pensions Act.DWP also made information on State Pension age changes and who they affect available on Gov.uk, and provided the online State Pension age calculator to give individuals a quick and simple way to check when they will reach State Pension age.We have committed to completing a review of the State Pension age by May 2017. This is an important opportunity to ensure that State Pension age changes are fully considered by Government and well understood by those they affect.

Department for Work and Pensions: Preston

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what facilities are available to enable staff based at the Carer's Allowance Unit in Preston to pay money from their wages into the Guild Money credit union.

Justin Tomlinson: The department has a confirmed list of approved organisations for which Consolidated Voluntary Deductions (CVD’s) may be made. However, this does not include the Guild Money Credit Union. Carer’s Allowance staff entering into arrangements with the Guild Money Credit Union should therefore arrange their payments through other methods such as direct debit through their bank or building society.

Disadvantaged: EU Grants and Loans

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Government has received from the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived in each of the last two years.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential for the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived to assist efforts to help homeless EEA nationals in the UK.

Priti Patel: The UK allocation from the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) is €3.96m for the 2014-20 period and will be used to expand breakfast club provision in deprived areas in England. The Department for Education received interim funding of €541,216 in advance of the scheme commencing. Officials are currently exploring options for the best way for the scheme to be administered.Since FEAD was created from within structural funds allocations and has some similarities to ESF, DWP Ministers took the initial decisions on our negotiation position on the size of the UK allocation and on the use of the funds. Responsibility for implementing the Fund now sits with DfE, and we have agreed this response with them. We will discuss with officials there whether all correspondence, PQs and so on, should now be their responsibility, or whether we retain a policy lead.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's complaints resolution procedure is when an external disability benefit assessor such as Atos or Capita submits an assessment for employment support allowance or personal independence payment which a claimant considers to be inaccurate; and whether claimants should apply to the assessor or to his Department to remedy inaccuracies in their assessment.

Justin Tomlinson: Claimants with a complaint against the decision on their entitlement to benefit should direct their complaint to the Department for Work and Pensions. Information for customers about how to complain can be found on GOV.UK and in customer information leaflets. The Department has systems in place which enable disputes and complaints as to accuracy to be addressed promptly. If a claimant considers that an Employment and Support Allowance or Personal Independence Payment award is based on an inaccurate assessment then they can ask the Department for an explanation of the decision, a copy of the assessment report, or if they disagree with the decision they can ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration. A Mandatory Reconsideration enables the claimant to provide any further relevant evidence, and enables disputes to be addressed, in many cases, without need to go through an appeal - which can be a protracted process. For complaints against the service they have received from contracted providers such as Atos or Capita, claimants should raise those complaints directly with the provider concerned. Information on how to do so can be found on the individual providers’ websites and in their customer information leaflets.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on tackling benefit fraud and error in each of the last five financial years.

Justin Tomlinson: Fraud and error is tackled within a number of areas across the Department. Specifically, the Fraud, Error and Debt Programme which commenced in June 2013 and delivers major change projects.Spending on the Fraud, Error and Debt Programme for the 5 years between 2010/11 and 2014/15 was £300m, delivering savings of circa £2bn. Further savings in the region of £2.9bn are expected by the end of 2021- 2022.In addition the Fraud and Error Service is a specialist organisation focused on identifying and correcting benefit fraud and the many Operational teams across the Department also play a critical role in preventing fraud and error occurring. The Department also provides financial incentives to Local Authorities with regard to identifying fresh initiatives to support the reduction of fraud and error in housing benefit.To provide a breakdown of how much the Department spent in aggregate on tackling benefit fraud and error in the last five years would incur disproportionate costs and we have therefore not provided a breakdown.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to work with credit reference agencies on addressing benefit fraud and error.

Justin Tomlinson: We already use credit reference agency data in the Fraud and Error Service on a case by case basis to support investigations, for example once high suspicion has already been identified which could be via a Hotline allegation or staff referral for example. In debt recovery the use of credit reference agency data enables us to have more informed discussions with the debtor and to reach agreement on rates of repayment that are sustainable for the debtor and meet our needs.

Housing Benefit: Fraud

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to transfer housing benefit fraud investigation powers from local authorities to national investigation service.

Justin Tomlinson: The current intention is for Local Authority powers to prosecute Housing Benefit cases to be turned off from 02 April 2016, at which time the Department for Work and Pensions Fraud and Error Service will assume overall responsibility, following the full implementation of the Single Fraud Investigation Service Project.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of benefit fraud in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2013-14; and what proportion of total expenditure on housing benefit that cost represented in each of those years.

Justin Tomlinson: Overpayments in the benefit system have fallen to a record low of 1.8% for 2014-15.In 2013-14 total benefit expenditure excluding housing benefit was £140bn, of which the cost of benefit fraud was £0.77bn (0.55%). Similarly, Housing Benefit expenditure was £24.2bn, of which the cost of benefit fraud was £0.43bn (1.78%).In 2014-15 total benefit expenditure excluding housing benefit was £144bn, of which the cost of benefit fraud was £0.71bn (0.49%). Similarly, Housing Benefit expenditure was £24.3bn, of which the cost of benefit fraud was 0.59bn (2.43%).

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for increased benefit fraud in the last financial year.

Justin Tomlinson: The 2014-2015 national statistics for fraud and error were published on 5 November 2015. We are committed to tackling fraud and error, and these figures show a reduction in total benefit fraud and error to the lowest ever level of 1.8%. There was a slight increase of 0.1% in the benefit fraud figure (from 0.7% in 2013-2014 to 0.8%).

Jobcentre Plus: Data Protection

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what policy his Department has in place to protect the confidentiality of data disclosed to JCP systems by jobseekers.

Priti Patel: All DWP staff are required to undertake annual information security training to ensure they are aware of the need to handle customer information in a way that preserves the integrity, security and confidentiality of that information. DWP also requires staff to apply and comply with the principles contained in the Data Protection Act 1998 and government security standards at all times.

Department for Work and Pensions: Families

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on his policies of the family test; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel: The Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance. As a result potential impacts of policy on family functioning and relationships have been identified and brought to the attention of Ministers where appropriate and as part of the normal process of agreeing policy.

Unemployed People: Training

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what additional support and training his Department offers to unemployed people in order for them to fill long-term vacancies in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

Priti Patel: The support provided by Jobcentre Plus work coaches is not dependant on the duration of a vacancy. Work Coaches deliver a personalised service to best meet the needs of the claimant and the local labour market across the UK.The flexible model of support available through Jobcentre Plus includes Work Experience, training and work placements through sector-based work academies, and support to become self-employed through the New Enterprise Allowance. In addition, the Work Programme offers tailored support to those people who are at risk of becoming long-term unemployed.Further education and skills policy in Scotland, including training for unemployed people, is the responsibility of Scottish Government. Jobcentres in Scotland work in partnership with Skills Development Scotland to ensure that benefit claimants who require training to find work can access the support they need.

Vacancies: Advertising

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that job vacancy statistics do not double-count jobs advertised through multiple agencies on the job vacancy portal.

Priti Patel: The official vacancy statistics are national statistics, produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and not DWP. ONS is the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics and is the recognised national statistical institute for the UK.The ONS is overseen by the UK Statistics Authority, which is an independent body operating at arm's length from government as a non-ministerial department, directly accountable to Parliament. The UK Statistics authority provides independent scrutiny (monitoring and assessment) of all official statistics produced in the UK.

Department for Work and Pensions: Debts Written Off

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 13612, what the total monetary value is of the debts written off since 2010.

Justin Tomlinson: In 2014-15 overpayments in the benefit system have fallen to a record low. In the same period the Department has recovered over £1.3bn of debt and has written off less than 0.3% (£0.4bn) of the value of all benefit payments. Overpayments are written off for a variety of reasons including cases where the debtor is deceased with no estate. The total value of debts written off from 2010 to 2015 is less than 0.3% (£1.8bn) of the value of all benefit payments during that period.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people who made a claim for support for mortgage interest in each year between 1995 and 2009 went into arrears on their (a) interest repayments and (b) capital repayments (i) during the first 13 weeks of the waiting period and (ii) between weeks 13 and 39 of the waiting period.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested regarding the number and proportion of people who made a claim for support for mortgage interest between 1995 and 2009 who went into arrears on the interest or capital repayment during the waiting period is not available.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people who made a claim for support for mortgage interest in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13, (e) 2013-14 and (f) 2014-15 went into arrears on their (i) interest repayments and (ii) capital repayments during the 13-week waiting period.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested regarding the number and proportion of people who made a claim for support for mortgage interest from 2009 to date who were in arrears on the interest or capital repayment during their waiting period is not available.

Jobcentre Plus: Pay

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department has used benefit off-flow data in the last three years to calculate remuneration for jobcentre (a) managers and (b) advisers.

Priti Patel: Benefit off-flow data is not used to calculate increases to consolidated pay.

Jobcentre Plus: Plaistow

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) advisers and (b) managers were interviewed during the course of the investigation which led to the dismissal of two advisers at Plaistow Jobcentre in May 2014.

Priti Patel: Allegations of misuse of the Flexible Support Fund at Plaistow Jobcentre were investigated fully by the Department’s professionally trained investigators. It is not appropriate for the Secretary of State to disclose detailed information about internal investigations as providing this information would risk individuals being identified.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of an increase in the universal credit taper rate on (a) work incentives and (b) progression incentives.

Priti Patel: The impact on work incentives of the 65% taper was set out in the 2012 Universal Credit (UC) Impact Assessment (see link below).https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220177/universal-credit-wr2011-ia.pdf

Jobcentre Plus: Plaistow

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many advisers worked at Plaistow Jobcentre in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.

Priti Patel: The information is in the table below:YearNumber of Advisers that worked at Plaistow Jobcentre2010/11242011/12262012/13272013/14232014/15271. Source of management information: DWP Work Services Activity Based Management Tool2. The management information is collated and reported for the period from April to March for each year3. The numbers of advisers are expressed as Full Time Equivalents4. The management information contained within this document does not form part of any official statistics and is intended for DWP internal use only.

Jobcentre Plus: Food Banks

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to roll-out the placement of Jobcentre Plus advisers in food banks.

Priti Patel: I refer the Hon. Member to the answers I gave on 3 November 2015 to Question 14114 and 14139

Social Security Benefits

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 10742, what proportion of people in the work-related activity group of employment and support allowance are also in receipt of personal independence payment.

Priti Patel: In May 2015, about 48% of the 460,000 claimants in the work-related activity group receive both ESA and PIP/DLA.

Children: Day Care

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the contribution of the provision of free childcare to UK productivity in (a) 2005-2010, (b) 2010-2015 and (c) 2015-2020.

Priti Patel: DWP have made no assessment of the provision of free childcare on productivity itself. However, several reports, including the DWP working paper A Survey of Childcare and Work Decisions among Families with Children, identify childcare costs as one of the main barriers to returning to work after the birth of a child. ONS data show women with young children have lower employment rates than men, and the Resolution Foundation reports that mothers who are employed are more likely to have part time and low-paid jobs due to childcare responsibilities. Provision of free childcare should support mothers to combine high-skilled and full time work with raising children.Also, evidence from the IFS report The Economic Effects of Pre-school Education and Quality suggests that children who have attended pre-school earn more over their working lives on average than children who have had little or no pre-schooling.

Social Security Benefits: Foreign Nationals

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent from the public purse on the payment of social security benefits to non-UK citizens in each non-European Economic Area country for each year from 1997-98 to 2014-15.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent from the public purse on the payment of social security benefits to non-UK citizens in each European Economic Area country for each year from 1997-98 to 2014-15.

Priti Patel: The full information requested is not held centrally.The Department for Work and Pensions checks the nationality and immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud. While this information is used, it is not recorded as part of the benefit payment administrative systems.Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables are published on Gov.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/474453/expenditure-by-country-and-region-2014-15.xlsxPlease note that these figures include a breakdown for UK regions and a combined figure for expenditure abroad or where the region is unknown. Expenditure is not broken down by nationality.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in state pension age in the Pensions Act 2011 on women born in the 1950s; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson: Estimates of the effect of the increase in State Pension age in the Pensions Act 2011 are presented in Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment, published in November 2011, available at:  https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181462/pensions-bill-2011-ia-annexa.pdf

Carer's Allowance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of people in receipt of the carer's credit and (b) the total cost of the carer's credit scheme in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested for Carers Credit is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Carer's Allowance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of people in receipt of the Carer's Allowance and (b) the total cost of the Carer's Allowance scheme in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson: Benefit expenditure and the number of people in receipt of Carer’s Allowance at a Great Britain level are available in our published expenditure tables which are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015

Offshore Industry: Safety

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for material changes to safety cases covering oil and gas installations were submitted to the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson: HSE received material change safety case submissions from UK continental shelf oil and gas installation operators as follows: 2011 – 26; 2012 – 84; 2013 – 53; 2014 – 45; 2015 – 51.

Offshore Industry: Safety

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many operators in the North Sea have yet to submit a safety case assessment to the Health and Safety Executive for the purposes of compliance with the provisions of the EU Directive on the safety of offshore oil and gas operations.

Justin Tomlinson: As of 11 November 2015, forty-four operators of oil and gas installations have yet to submit a safety case for one or more installations to the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator for assessment. This is in line with an agreed transition schedule which is due for completion by 18 July 2018.

Employment and Support Allowance

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have flowed off employment and support allowance with a work capability assessment decision of fit for work since 2011; and how many such people's death was at the same time as defined in the document Mortality Statistics: Employment and support allowance, incapacity benefit or severe disability allowance, published in August 2015.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people flowed off IB/SDA with a work capability assessment decision of fit for work since December 2011; and how many such people's death was at the same time defined in Mortality Statistics: Employment and support allowance, incapacity benefit or severe disability allowance, published in August 2015.

Priti Patel: The information as requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cumulative loss of pension income to women born in the 1950s following the increase in state pension age in the Pensions Act 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson: Impacts as a result of increases in State Pension age set in Pensions Act 2011 are presented in Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment, published in November 2011, available at:  https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181462/pensions-bill-2011-ia-annexa.pdfThis included a gender impact assessment in annex A which found that while some aspects of the Pensions Act 2011 provisions will impact women more strongly than men, the impact is not disproportionate and is a consequence of closing the gender gap in State Pension age earlier than under current plans. Women who work for longer have the opportunity to improve their pension provision placing them in a better position to fund their retirement.

Welfare State: Productivity

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the document Fixing the Foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, Cm 9098, if he will publish his Department's analysis that links reform of the welfare system to increasing the UK's productivity.

Priti Patel: The Paper, Fixing the Foundations: creating a more prosperous economy focuses not on the link between welfare reforms and productivity but instead on how ‘a productive economy must make the most of its labour force and effectively mobilise people into jobs’.The UK is making the most of its labour force and is mobilising people into jobs. The latest figures show that the employment rate rose this quarter to a new record high of 73.7%. There are now a record 31.2 million people in work.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of women in (a) Warrington and (b) Warrington North constituency who were born in the 1950s and will see an increase in their state pension age as a result of the Pensions Act 2011.

Justin Tomlinson: All women born between 6 April 1953 and 5 April 1960 will see an increase in their State Pension age as a result of the Pensions Act 2011. Estimates of the number of such women at local authority and constituency level can be made from the relevant population estimates, published by the Office for National Statistics.a) Local Authority population estimates, relating to mid-2014 can be found in “MYE2_population_by_sex_and_age_for_local_authorities_UK.xls” which can be found within the zip file “rft---mid-2014-uk-population-estimates.zip” obtainable by selecting “Population Estimates for UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Mid-2014” at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/search/index.html?pageSize=50&sortBy=none&sortDirection=none&newquery=Population+Estimates+for+UK%2C+England+and+Wales%2C+Scotland+and+Northern+Ireland%2C+Mid-2014&content-type=Reference+table&content-type=Dataset&nscl=Population+Estimates b) Parliamentary Constituency (England and Wales) level population estimates, relating to mid-2013 (the latest available) can be found by selecting “SAPE15DT7 - Parliamentary Constituency Mid-Year Population Estimates (experimental), Mid-2013” at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-367629(and for Scotland, mid-2013, at: http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/population-estimates/special-area/UKPC/ukpc-pop-est-2002-2013.xls)

Offshore Industry: Safety

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions Health and Safety Executive inspectors from the Energy Division and predecessor divisions issued improvement notices to operators of offshore oil and gas installations in each year since 2005-06; and what proportion of those notices were served in relation to maintenance issues in each such year.

Justin Tomlinson: The number of Improvement Notices served on offshore operators by Energy Division and predecessor divisions in each year since 2005/6 comprises:YEARTotalMaintenance2005/63662006/753142007/82932008/948112009/103052010/114192011/123062012/131212013/142742014/15337Please note that the rationale used for answering the question is as follows:• The question specifies Improvement Notices, and so Prohibition Notices have not been considered;• The total includes all notices served in respect of the offshore oil and gas industry, and includes pipelines and diving where relevant;• Offshore windfarms, withdrawn notices, and notices currently under appeal, or where an appeal has been upheld have been excluded;• Maintenance has been taken to include notices in relation to maintenance systems, failures to maintain (includes work equipment and fabric integrity), and maintenance backlogs (generally criteria for deferring maintenance of Safety Critical Elements etc);

Offshore Industry: Safety

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many safety case assessments the Health and Safety Executive has received from installation operators in the oil and gas sector in each of the last three years; and what the rate of compliance of that sector is with the provision of the EU Directive on the safety of offshore oil and gas operations.

Justin Tomlinson: HSE received Safety Case submissions from UK Continental Shelf oil and gas installation operators as follows: 2012 – 187; 2013 – 183; 2014 – 223; 2015 (to 11/11/2015) – 223. These figures include submissions required by statute for new installations, and material changes or summaries of thorough reviews of existing safety cases.The 223 submissions received so far in 2015 include 53 cases required for compliance with the provisions of the EU Directive.

Offshore Industry: Safety

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many improvement notices have been issued by Health and Safety Executive inspectors to operators of offshore oil and gas installations in 2015-16; and what proportion of those notices were issued in response to maintenance matters.

Justin Tomlinson: Twenty three Improvement Notices have been issued to offshore operators in the period April 15 to date. Of these, four were related to maintenance.Please note that the rationale used for answering the question is as follows:• The question specifies Improvement Notices, and so Prohibition Notices have not been considered;• The total includes all notices served in respect of the offshore oil and gas industry, and includes pipelines and diving where relevant;• Offshore windfarms, withdrawn notices, and notices currently under appeal, or where an appeal has been upheld have been excluded;• Maintenance has been taken to include notices in relation to maintenance systems, failures to maintain (includes work equipment and fabric integrity), and maintenance backlogs (generally criteria for deferring maintenance of Safety Critical Elements etc);

Offshore Industry: Safety

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in the Health and Safety Executive have worked on processing safety case assessments from installation operators in the oil and gas industry in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson: A part of the work of all inspectors and support staff working on offshore issues involves the processing of Offshore Safety Cases; scientists and others working at the Health and Safety Laboratories also contribute. From 2010 onwards representative annual offshore staffing levels were 112; 115; 116; 129 and 131. Current numbers for 2015 -16 are 148

Employment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy that people who increase their earnings from work should always be financially better off as a result.

Priti Patel: The Government’s policy is that people should be better off in work and better off working more. That is why we are introducing Universal Credit, which has been designed to reduce poverty and ensure that work pays more than a life on benefits. The single taper rate of 65% ensures that Universal Credit reduces gradually as earnings increase and claimants benefit from each extra £1 they earn.

Offshore Industry: Safety

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the regulatory requirements of the EU Directive on the safety of offshore oil and gas operations have been fully implemented; and which regulatory bodies are represented on the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator.

Justin Tomlinson: The regulatory requirements of the EU Directive were fully implemented in GB by the Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc.) Regulations (2015) which came into force on 19 July 2015. Northern Ireland is in the process of implementing regulations.The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) are represented on the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator (OSDR).

New Enterprise Allowance

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been recipients of the new enterprise allowance in (a) St Helens North, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK since it began.

Priti Patel: The following table gives the number of mentor and business starts for New Enterprise Allowance from April 2011 to June 2015. It is possible that a person may start on the scheme more than once. New Enterprise Allowance is only available in England, Scotland and Wales, therefore figures have been provided for Great Britain, not the United Kingdom. These figures are taken from the published Official Statistics which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/new-enterprise-allowance-april-2011-to-june-2015.New Enterprise Allowance: Mentor starts (4) New Enterprise Allowance: Business starts (5)St Helens North (1)410250Merseyside (2)5,7803,370Great Britain144,14073,290Notes:1) Figures are presented for the parliamentary constituency of St Helens North.2) Figures for Merseyside include the five local authorities of Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St. Helens and Wirral.3) Figures show the number of starts where people have begun working with a business mentor.4) Figures show the number of mentor starts that have progressed to set up their own business.5) Values are rounded to the nearest 10.6) Following a trailblazer in January 2011, New Enterprise Allowance was introduced in target areas in April 2011, and rolled out nationally from 1st August 2011. This table only includes data from April 2011.7) Some claimants on Universal Credit (UC) are not captured in the data presented, there may be a small undercount of starts in areas where UC has been introduced.

Ministry of Defence

Military Aircraft

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many aircraft owned by each service branch of the armed forces are leased to private businesses; and how much is paid to each such branch in respect of such leases.

Mr Philip Dunne: No aircraft owned by the Armed Forces are leased to private businesses.

Military Decorations

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13951, which foreign military awards have been approved for members of the UK armed forces to wear; and what criteria are applied in determining such approval.

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) current and (b) former members of the UK armed forces have been awarded the NATO Africa Medal.

Mark Lancaster: The UK Armed Forces have a distinguished history of serving with great courage and professionalism in a wide-range of conflict situations; over the years various foreign military awards have been approved for acceptance and some of these have also been approved for wearing. A full list of the qualifying criteria for, and permission to wear, campaign medals, foreign medals and medals awarded by international organisations is available in Joint Service Publication 761 which can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/396186/JSP761_honours_awards.pdfInformation on the numbers of UK Service personnel or veterans who have been awarded the NATO Africa Medal is not held by the Ministry of Defence as this is administered by NATO.

Ministry of Defence: Scotland

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2015 to Question 14252, what estimate he has made of his Department's likely strength of civilian personnel based in Scotland on 1 April (a) 2016 and (b) 2020 for each top level budget.

Michael Fallon: It has not been possible in the time available to provide a geographical breakdown of projected estimated civilian personnel strengths by Top Level Budget. Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials will investigate what information can be provided and I will write in due course.As at 1 July 2015 the MOD employed 3,770 civilian personnel at locations in Scotland. A breakdown by Unitary Authority can be found in the Quarterly Locations Report, the latest edition of which can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-of-uk-regular-service-and-civilian-personnel-quarterly-statistics-2015

United Nations: Peacekeeping Operations

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK personnel have served in UN peacekeeping missions in each of the last 10 years.

Penny Mordaunt: Over the past 10 years, UK military personnel have been deployed to a number of UN mandated peacekeeping missions including: Cyprus (UNFICYP), Mali (MINUSMA), South Sudan (UNMISS), Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), Liberia (UNMIL), Dafur (UNAMID), UNAMI (IRAQ), UNIOSIL (Sierra Leone), UNMIK (Kosovo), UNOMIG (Georgia), UNMIN (Nepal), UNAMA (Afghanistan), UNSOM (Somalia) and UNSMIL (Libya/Tunisia).The number of military personnel who have deployed on the various UN operations is set out below:2006*2007*2008*2009*201020112012201320142015**Total number of UK personnel deployed per year295290301293279276280278285287* The details supplied are correct as of 31 January each year.** Correct as of 10 November 2015.

HMS Artful

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on HMS Artful.

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the expected cost of HMS Artful was when it was commissioned.

Mr Philip Dunne: The first three Astute class submarines were ordered as a single batch. Separate construction costs for Artful are, therefore, not held by the department. As such, it is not possible to determine how much the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has spent on HMS Artful individually; nor what the MOD expected the specific cost of HMS Artful to be, when commissioned.

HMS Artful

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when HMS Artful is planned to be in active service.

Mr Philip Dunne: It is planned that Artful will be handed over to the Royal Navy in December 2015. I cannot comment on when Artful will be deployed on active service as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Trafalgar Class Submarines: Decommissioning

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans the Government has for the decommissioning of (a) HMS Torbay, (b) HMS Trenchant, (c) HMS Talent and (d) HMS Triumph.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) is looking across the spectrum to assess what defence capabilities will address the threats we face. The conclusions of the SDSR are due to be published on 23 November.

Spratly Islands: Territorial Waters

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Royal Navy plans to adhere to the 12-nautical mile territorial limit proclaimed by China around the Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly archipelago; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: In accordance with international law as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Royal Navy warships exercise the right of innocent passage whenever transiting in another States' recognised territorial seas. The exercise of the right of innocent passage requires neither prior authorization nor authorization from the coastal State. When operating in the Exclusive Economic Zone of a coastal State, RN warships will exercise full freedom of navigation and overflight whilst respecting any established safety zones, up to 500 meters, around an artificial island, installation or structure.In the South China Sea the UK has a strong interest in the maintenance of peace and stability, which is underpinned by respect for, and adherence to, international law. The UK strongly supports its right, and that of all States, to exercise freedom of navigation in accordance with UNCLOS. We urge all States to respect these very important rights.

Ministry of Defence: Families

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of his Department's policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps he has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments that have been carried out; and if he will make a statement.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to implement the family test.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.

Mark Lancaster: The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. The Department for Work and Pensions published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) follows that guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdfThe Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance. While the guidance states that Departments should consider publishing assessments carried out under the Test, there is no requirement to do so.Over the last five years the MOD has significantly increased the support provided to the families of Service personnel. For details of these I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 June 2015 to Question 1192 to the hon. Member for Enfield Southgate (Mr Burrowes): http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-06-04/1192/Since I provided that answer I was delighted to announce to the Confederation of Service Charities (COBSEO) Annual General Meeting on 30 September our plans for the first UK Armed Forces Families Strategy, the aim of which is to provide a clearer focus for our efforts to understand, value and empower the families of our Armed Forces personnel. This Strategy will build on the successes outlined in my answer by addressing inconsistencies and incoherence in MOD policies and by improving our communications to Armed Forces families.

Trafalgar Class Submarines: Repairs and Maintenance

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on maintenance aboard HMS (a) Torbay, (b) Trenchant, (c) Talent and (d) Triumph in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The cost of maintenance onboard submarines is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Astute Class Submarines

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the seaworthiness is of HMS (a) Astute and (b) Ambush.

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the seaworthiness is of (a) HMS Torbay, (b) HMS Trenchant, (c) HMS Talent and (d) HMS Triumph.

Mr Philip Dunne: The safety of the UK submarine fleet is of paramount importance. The Ministry of Defence assesses seaworthiness for submarines through a robust sea clearance process. This assessment is kept under continuous review.I am withholding the seaworthiness state of each submarine as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Astute Class Submarines

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many faults have been found aboard HMS (a) Astute, (b) Ambush and (c) Artful since it left dry dock.

Mr Philip Dunne: The process for reporting and assessing deficiencies against the material state of a submarine does not use the definition of a fault. The material state of a submarine is formally assessed at the end of each maintenance period. In the time in between maintenance periods, Ship's Staff report changes to this assessed material state using the Operational Defect reporting process.

Ministry of Defence: Contracts

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) contracts and (b) sub-contracts (i) his Department and (ii) agencies of his Department have awarded (A) Netcracker Technology and (B) Computer Sciences Corporation.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has two current contracts with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), details of which are in the table below. There have been no contracts between the MOD Trading Funds and CSC.Contract numberContract titleContract start dateCurrent contract end dateSPVA/0025Provision of Armed Forces pay, pensions, other military HR services and administrative services8 June 201212 November 2019MTSC/0154Specialist advice for the CONSORT Bridge Trainer at Maritime Warfare School1 April 201131 March 2016Neither the MOD nor its Trading Funds have had any contracts with Netcracker Technology.The MOD does not centrally record information on sub-contracts and this could only be provided at disproportionate cost.Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish information about the contracts they award on Contracts Finder:https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finderIn addition, Departments publish details of spend in excess of £25,000 on gov.uk:www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-finance-transparency-dataset

Armed Forces: Pay

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government's policy is on the provision of incremental annual pay rises for personnel of the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: As part of its New Employment Model programme, Defence is developing a new pay model which will be simpler, more transparent and provide Service personnel with greater pay predictability, removing some of the unpopular and divisive features of the current pay model. However, the details of this new pay model, including incremental progression arrangements, cannot be finalised until the outcome of the Spending Review is known.

Bahrain: Military Bases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how the construction of a new Royal Navy facility in Bahrain will further assist UK forces operating in the Middle East to resolve the conflicts there in which they are currently engaged.

Penny Mordaunt: The new National Support Facility at Mina Salman Port in Bahrain will provide a permanent expansion of the Ministry of Defence's presence in the Gulf. The enhanced facilities will provide better support for ships on operations, training, equipment storage and multi-purpose accommodation for Service personnel. The agreement with Bahrain reflects the UK's and Bahrain's joint determination to maintain regional security and stability in the face of enduring and emerging regional challenges.

Peacekeeping Operations: Costs

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total cost of overseas military operations was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The total net additional costs of UK military operations overseas in each of the last five financial years has been as follows:Financial YearTotal2010-11£4.0 billion2011-12£3.8 billion2012-13£2.8 billion2013-14£2.0 billion2014-15£1.1 billionThese figures cover operations in Afghanistan, Libya, the wider Gulf, countering ISIL activity in Iraq and Syria and other short-term operations, whether funded by the Treasury's Special Reserve or by the Conflict Pool and subsequent Conflict Security and Stabilisation Fund.This information is published in more detail in the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Annual Report and Accounts, most recently in Table 2.3.1 on page 51 of the MOD's 2014-15 Annual Report and Accounts, which is available on the Gov.UK website at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

RAF Akrotiri: Refugees

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2015 to Question 13126, how many of the refugees who have arrived at RAF Akrotiri have (a) claimed asylum, (b) had such asylum claims accepted and (c) had such asylum claims rejected to date; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: Following the arrival of 115 migrants at RAF Akrotiri on 21 October 2015, as at 12 November 2015, 60 migrants have claimed asylum. Six asylum seekers have been transferred so far into the Republic of Cyprus. The other asylum seekers are completing pre-requisite security and medical screening and we expect that they will transfer to the Republic of Cyprus asylum system shortly.

RAF Akrotiri: Refugees

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the physical and mental health of refugees arriving by boat at RAF Akrotiri; and what steps he plans to take to ensure the wellbeing of those refugees.

Penny Mordaunt: The transit facility at Dhekelia Station in Cyprus has been developed with advice from the Department for International Development (DfID) and has been visited by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees representative in Cyprus, who has said that the conditions of the facility exceed the standard of comparable set-ups.We have a DfID adviser embedded at the transit facility who continues to advise on best practice which has enabled us to maintain these high standards.All of the migrants have been assessed by medical personnel and provided with any necessary treatment.

Ministry of Defence: Listed Buildings

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) Grade I listed buildings, (b) Grade II* listed buildings, (c) Grade II listed buildings and (d) scheduled monuments his Department owns; under which top level budget those buildings and monuments fall; and what plans he has for their disposal.

Mark Lancaster: Details of all Grade I listed buildings, Grade II* listed buildings, Grade II listed buildings and scheduled monuments the Department owns, including those which are located on sites that are currently in disposal are shown in the attached tables.Details of the top level budget for these Monuments and Buildings could only be provided at disproportionate cost.



15408 - MOD List of Scheduled Monuments
(Excel SpreadSheet, 202 KB)




15408 - MOD Listed Buildings - All Grades
(Excel SpreadSheet, 67.18 KB)

Royal Hospital Haslar

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department retains any formal interest in the site of the Royal Hospital Haslar.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, to whom and for what price the site of the Royal Hospital Haslar was sold.

Mr Julian Brazier: The Haslar Hospital site in Gosport was sold in November 2009 to Our Enterprise (Haslar) Ltd for £3 million. The Department retains no formal interest in the site.

Ministry of Defence: Public Expenditure

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) the amount of any underspend expected against departmental expenditure limits in the current fiscal year and (b) his Department's latest forecast of total AME spend for this year is; and what the forecasts were for those sums at the time of the Summer Budget 2015 and March Budget 2015.

Michael Fallon: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is not forecasting an underspend against its total Departmental expenditure limit in 2015-16. The forecast of total Annually Managed Expenditure spend for 2015-16 is included in MOD's Main Estimate [https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/441360/PU_1815_Main_Estimates_book_WEB.pdf]. These forecasts will be updated in our Supplementary Estimate.

Ministry of Defence: Public Expenditure

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent (a) in real terms and (b) as a share of departmental spending on (i) temporary agency staff, (ii) consultants, (iii) non-payroll staff, (iv) administration and (v) marketing and advertising for each year since 2010-11.

Michael Fallon: This information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I can, however, provide an analysis of non-permanent staff and the Ministry of Defence's Administration Costs.Financial YearBudget ElementOutturn (£ million)Outturn (Percentage of Total Departmental Expenditure Limit)2010-11Contingent Labour46.90.12%Advisory Consultancy23.50.06%Other Non-Permanent Staff (1)316.80.80%Administration Costs (2)2,026.05.13% (3)2011-12Contingent Labour49.20.13%Advisory Consultancy18.30.05%Other Non-Permanent Staff (1)315.10.85%Administration Costs (2)2,691.97.24% (3)2012-13Contingent Labour50.30.15%Advisory Consultancy44.50.13%Other Non-Permanent Staff (1)270.70.79%Administration Costs (2)2,178.96.36% (3)2013-14Contingent Labour99.30.29%Advisory Consultancy90.40.26%Other Non-Permanent Staff (1)219.50.64%Administration Costs (2)2,129.26.16%2014-15Contingent Labour118.70.35%Advisory Consultancy91.20.27%Other Non-Permanent Staff (1)332.50.97%Administration Costs (2)1,473.74.29% (3)Notes:(1) Comprising: fee earners, manpower support, technical support and casual staff.(2) HM Treasury define Administration Budgets as covering costs other than the costs of direct frontline service provision; for example, activities such as the provision of policy advice and business support services. Administration costs therefore usually include expenditure on employee costs, accommodation, office services, contracted-out services and relevant depreciation. From financial 2011-12 the Department and HM Treasury agreed that Administration Budgets would in future only include the costs of civilian staff (excluding health-care professionals and staff working in operational areas) and the cost of Advisory Consultancy; the Armed Forces were excluded from this revised Administration Cost Regime as were the MOD's Arms Length Bodies. The scope of Administration Costs was updated in 2014-15 to include military administration costs and exclude civilian costs where they relate directly to programme or frontline service delivery.(3) Elements of expenditure on Contingent Labour, Advisory Consultancy and other non-permanent staff are also included in the MOD's Administration Costs and there is therefore some duplication with other statistics provided in the table.

Submarines: North Atlantic Ocean

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has received notification of, or has itself noted, any unusual submarine activity in the vicinity of internet and telephony cables in the Atlantic Ocean; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 3 November 2015 to Question 13593 to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Mr Chapman).



QnA Extract - 13593 - Optical Fibres
(Word Document, 14.12 KB)

World War I

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on how many sets of British brothers were killed in the First World War.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence no longer holds information on this subject. Service records from the First World War that have survived are held at the National Archives at Kew.

Veterans: Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that British veterans who develop cancer through exposure to asbestos are entitled to the same level of compensation as civilians.

Mark Lancaster: As the Prime Minister said during Prime Ministers' Questions on 4 November 2015, the Ministry of Defence is looking into the matter.The Government has continuously made compensation available under the War Pensions Scheme for injuries, illness or disease caused by service before 6 April 2005, including mesothelioma. The War Pensions Scheme provides Veterans with mesothelioma with the maximum award paid on a weekly/monthly basis and additional supplementary allowances and, where appropriate, entitlement to dependent's benefits.While there are currently no plans for separate compensation arrangements for veterans suffering with mesothelioma, consideration is being given to whether any flexibility can be provided for future claimants under the War Pensions Scheme. As this issue is a complex matter, officials have been undertaking a detailed review. I hope we will be able to present our conclusions soon.

Defence Equipment: Iron and Steel

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14296, where in Europe Tata Steel is licensed and has an exclusive right to manufacture Super Bainite Steel; from which countries Tata may not export Super Bainite steel; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: Tata Steel is licensed to manufacture Super Bainite Steel in the United Kingdom, all other member states of the European Union and Switzerland.The licence agreement does not provide an export licence for Super Bainite and requires Tata Steel to comply with all applicable export control laws and regulations.

Trident

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether General Sir Nicholas Houghton sought permission under departmental directive 2014DIN03-024 on Contact with the media and communicating in public to discuss the Trident nuclear weapons system in advance of the recent television interview on the Andrew Marr on Sunday programme.

Michael Fallon: General Sir Nicholas Houghton sought prior clearance to be interviewed on the Andrew Marr Show on Remembrance Sunday, 8 November 2015: as with previous Remembrance Sunday appearances a number of military issues were covered.

Type 45 Destroyers

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the reliability of the power and propulsion systems of the Type 45 Destroyer.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given by my noble Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Lord Astor of Hever on 2 March 2015, to the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Stamford, in the House of Lords to Question HL 5030.Progress continues to be made over the reliability of the existing power and propulsion system.



QnA extract HL5030 - Type 45 Destroyers
(Word Document, 14.68 KB)

Armed Forces: Codes of Practice

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there has been any recent change to the guidance given to senior personnel in the armed forces on the public comments on political matters which they may make.

Michael Fallon: No.

Air Force: Mental Health

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of (a) the indicators of mental disorders including stress, depression, fatigue and post traumatic stress disorder and (b) the provision of support by service providers or others to personnel in 13 and 39 Squadrons.

Mark Lancaster: The Government is committed to improving the mental health of our Armed Forces and has long recognised that Service life can cause stress. Support to personnel has improved in a number of ways, including providing pre and post-operational stress management training, a wide range of psychiatric and psychological treatments and initiatives such as Decompression and Trauma Risk Incident Management (TRiM) and Post Operational Stress Management.Measures are in place to increase awareness at all levels of the risk of Mental Health disorders and indicators to help identify these. Trained TRiM providers are embedded within both Squadrons to offer peer group mentoring and support, whilst also educating non-medical Service personnel on how to identify indicators of mental health problems.

Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to table a new statutory instrument relating to the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees and to change their title to reflect their new role.

Mark Lancaster: This matter is under consideration.

MOD Donnington

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many L86A1-SA-80 light support weapons have been returned from the Middlesex North West London Army cadet force to his Department's Donnington barracks since 2003.

Mr Philip Dunne: Since 2003 the Middlesex North West London Army Cadet Force have returned L86A1-SA-80 light support weapons to Ministry of Defence Donnington on one occasion. Four L86 A1-SA-80 weapons were returned in January 2011.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government: Property

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what obligation there is on local authorities to publish online a property asset register; and to what timetable such an obligation must be met.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 14 October 2015



Local people expect their local authorities to make the most of its land and assets, sharing their estate with other organisations and selling empty or high value property that is unnecessarily being retained. To ensure local people are able to scrutinise how their local authority manages its assets the Government made it a legal requirement for local authorities to annually publish details of the land and assets it owns in a readable format.Under the Local Government Transparency Code 2015, local authorities are required to publish details about the land it owns (subject to a few exceptions), including details of its location, and the value of its social housing stock.Local authorities were required to first publish details of its land and assets by February 2015 and details of their social housing stock by September 2015.

Fire Services

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many firefighters in each fire and rescue authority are qualified trauma technicians.

Greg Clark: This information is not held centrally by the Department.

Emergency Services

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the potential for efficiencies from closer working between the ambulance and fire services; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: The Government’s continued ambition is for greater collaboration between fire and local authorities and between fire, police and ambulance services to deliver a more efficient and effective service for the public. My Department has made available a significant amount of funding to fire and rescue authorities in 2015-16 for this purpose injecting over £65 million to support collaboration projects.Our goal is to improve outcomes for the public through closer joint working across all the emergency services, including the NHS ambulance service. My Department in conjunction with the Home office and the Department of Health is currently consulting on the Government's manifesto commitment of enabling closer working between emergency services.

Fireworks: Fire Hazards

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information the Government holds on the number of (a) domestic and (b) forest or woodland fires caused by the use of fireworks in each of the last five years.

Greg Clark: The figures in the table show that almost 750 fires attended by fire crews were recorded as having fireworks as the cause of ignition in either dwellings, other residential or forest/woodland fires over the past five years. However, the Department collects information on the source of ignition for primary fires only. Primary fires include all fires in buildings, vehicles and outdoor structures or any fire involving casualties, rescues or fires attended by five or more appliances. The definition also includes “woodland/forest/crops” but other similar land types (eg “grassland, pasture, grazing etc”) are considered secondary fires for which this information is not gathered.



Table - Fires Attended
(Excel SpreadSheet, 12.36 KB)

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of assured shorthold tenancies registered with each of the three tenancy deposit schemes; whether each deposit is held under (a) a custodial and (b) an insurance scheme; and how many assured shorthold tenancies there were in England and Wales in each year since each scheme's establishment.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many times each of the three tenancy deposit schemes which hold contracts with his Department to run authorised scheme mediated in disputes between landlords and tenants over deposits in each year since each scheme was put in place; how many disputes have been found in favour of the (a) landlord and (b) tenant; and what the average length of time was for the dispute resolution process to conclude.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what limit is set on each of the three tenancy deposit schemes which hold contracts with his Department to run authorised schemes for the maximum length of time it takes for them to resolve a dispute through alternative dispute resolution; and what guidance or requirements his Department has issued to these schemes on these maximum limits.

Brandon Lewis: Under tenancy deposit protection legislation introduced in the Housing Act 2004, all landlords who let out property on an assured shorthold tenancy are required to protect their tenants’ deposits in one of the three Government-approved deposit protection schemes.Details of the number of deposits protected under each scheme as at March 2015 are set out below:Custodial scheme: Deposit Protection Service: 1,170,564Insurance Schemes:Tenancy Deposit Scheme: 1,135,769 Deposit Protection Service: 20,944 MyDeposits: 738,853Whilst the Government has authorised three private companies to provide tenancy deposit protection schemes, we do not have a day-to-day role in the running of the schemes, however, we do maintain an oversight responsibility, and the Department holds quarterly monitoring meetings with scheme providers at which any performance issues can be discussed. Over the period that the schemes have been in operation, they have performed at a consistently high level. We have not issued guidance for the schemes who all engage the services of dispute resolution professionals. However, the majority of disputes are resolved in 28 days, which is the performance target set by the Government.The number of adjudications per year for each scheme is set out in the attached table, including the percentage of adjudications awarded to tenants and landlords.



Table of Adjudications
(Word Document, 22.33 KB)

Homelessness: Croydon

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department provided to Croydon Council in Homeless Prevention Grant in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14, (c) 2014-15 and (d) 2015-16.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 06 November 2015



We have made available over £500 million to local authorities and the voluntary sector to tackle homelessness. Since 2010, this has helped local authorities to prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless.Croydon Council received Homelessness Prevention Grant of £1,125,000 in 2012-13. From 2013-14 support for preventing homelessness has been included in the annual Local Government Finance Settlement, split between Revenue Support Grant and estimated retained business rates.In the following years Croydon Council’s level of notional grant was as follows: £945,000 in 2013-14, £931,000 in 2014-15 and £930,000 in 2015-16.Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates are not ring-fenced it is up to individual authorities to decide how grant funding should be spent in order to deliver local services.

Bed and Breakfast Accommodation

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many families with children living in bed and breakfast have been so accommodated for more than six weeks; and how many families with children were living in bed and breakfast accommodation in (a) each local authority in the East Midlands and (b) England in each year since 2010.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 09 November 2015



The Department for Communities and Local Government collects figures for the number of households in temporary accommodation as snapshot figures at the end of each quarter. Theattached table shows the number of families with children who were accommodated in Bed & Breakfast hotels (including shared annexes) on 31st December for each year 2010–2014, who were resident for more than 6 weeks, in the East Midlands and England.Numbers for individual local authorities have not been provided, as they generally relate to very small numbers of households and therefore risk disclosing personal information.The law is clear that bed and breakfast accomodation should only be used to house homeless in an emergency, and for no longer than six weeks.



Table
(Word Document, 27.9 KB)

Rates and Rating: Appeals

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on reviewing the Valuation Office Agency process for considering rating assessment appeals.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had about reducing the time taken by the Valuation Office Agency to consider rating assessment appeals.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government is committed to delivering a quicker and more efficient business rates appeals system in England, so that businesses can be confident they are paying the right amount of business rates and any refunds can be paid quickly. Details of our proposals are set out in the consultation paper Check, Challenge, Appeal: Reforming Business Rates Appeals, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-business-rates-appeals-check-challenge-appeal. Enabling legislation is being taken forward in the Enterprise Bill.

Housing

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will meet providers of (a) supported housing and (b) specified housing to discuss the effect of the proposed change to social rents on the viability of those types of housing.

Brandon Lewis: We welcome the opportunity to engage with the supported housing sector to understand how the sector’s views can best be accommodated as we implement our policy. Ministers and officials have been discussing this issue with the National Housing Federation and a number of providers.We plan to except specialised supported housing, residential care homes, nursing homes and PFI-funded Extra Care housing from the rent reductions. We are continuing to work with the sector on this issue to ensure the most vulnerable are protected.

Communities and Local Government: Diwali

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which Diwali celebrations he, his predecessor or Ministers in his Department attended in 2014 and 2015.

Mr Marcus Jones: DCLG Ministers attended the following Diwali functions:2014:The All-Party Parliamentary Group for British Hindus at the House of Commons (15 October 2014) - Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles MPDeputy Prime Minister’s Diwali function at Admiralty House (22 October 2014) - Stephen Williams MPConservative Party event to celebrate Diwali at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (27 October 2014) - Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles MP2015:Prime Minister's Diwali reception at No10 Downing Street (10 November 2015) - Rt. Hon. Greg Clark MP and Baroness Williams of Trafford

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service: Staff

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the change in the number of firefighter posts was in the Durham Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the change in the number of firefighter posts was in the Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the change in the number of firefighter posts was in the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the change in the number of firefighter posts was in the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the change in the number of firefighter posts was in the Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.

Greg Clark: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 6 November, PQ 13946.

Communities and Local Government: Families

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many of his Department's policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps he has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments that have been carried out; and if he will make a statement.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to implement the family test.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.

Brandon Lewis: Officials in my Department have liaised with the Department for Work and Pensions as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it into the policy process. This has included training officials on applying the Test and disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice.

Families: Disadvantaged

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of references of families to the Troubled Families programme have been the result of schools expressing concerns that children are not receiving sufficient food at home since April 2015.

Greg Clark: My Department does not hold this information.

Housing: Planning Permission

Nadhim Zahawi: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether local planning authorities can limit community housing developments proposed in the dispersal policies of a local plan due to the lack of sufficient infrastructure, shops, services or employment to support such a development.

Brandon Lewis: The National Planning Policy Framework expects local planning authorities to meet the objectively-assessed needs for market and affordable housing in their area, insofar as it is consistent with other policies in the Framework. As part of the plan-making process we expect authorities to consider what infrastructure is needed to support development, and work with neighbouring authorities and transport providers, to develop plans for how it can be provided. The cumulative impact of development, and the need for infrastructure to support development, are material considerations in decisions on individual proposals.

Housing: Cooperatives

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will exempt housing co-operatives from the right to buy scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: Under the voluntary agreement with the National Housing Federation, there will be a presumption that housing associations will sell tenants the property in which they live, but there will be some broad circumstances where a housing association can exercise discretion to decline a sale. These circumstances include properties held by co-operative housing associations.

Housing: Cooperatives

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to increase the number of housing co-operatives; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: The Government continues to demonstrate its support for the community-led housing sector and we have encouraged community-led groups, including housing co-operatives, to apply for funding from the current Affordable Homes Programme. We also strongly encourage local authorities and larger providers to identify new community-based partnership members who may be able to bring additional capacity to a bid.The Homes and Communities Agency is operating a process of continuous market engagement which offers all providers ongoing access to bid for grant. This should specifically help smaller community-led organisations such as housing co-operatives to prepare good bids and access funding.

Change of Use

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to publish his review of the residential conversion threshold for agricultural buildings.

Brandon Lewis: We announced in the Rural Productivity Plan that we will review the planning constraints facing rural businesses. This will include a review of the current threshold for agricultural buildings to convert to residential buildings. A Call for Evidence will be published later in the autumn.

Mayors: Elections

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proposals he has received from local and regional government on directly electing mayors; and if hewill make a statement.

James Wharton: We have already agreed four devolution deals which will see directly elected Combined Authority Mayors introduced.The Government is in discussions with other local areas across the country about the opportunities offered by devolution, and what new governance model may suit those areas, building on the 38 proposals received on 4 September.

Owner Occupation: Greater London

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of the total number of households have been owner occupiers in each of the last 10 years in each London (i) borough and (ii) constituency.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold this information at local authority level. The 2011 Census (Office for National Statistics) provides local authority estimates for 2011.

Right to Buy Scheme

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the proportion of new replacement homes for housing association homes to be sold under the proposed extension of right-to-buy entitlements which will be (a) local authority owned social housing, (b) housing association social housing and (c) private rented sector housing.

Brandon Lewis: Under the voluntary agreement with the National Housing Federation and housing associations, every home sold to tenants will result in an additional home being provided. This will lead to an increase in overall housing supply.Associations will have the freedom to replace the properties sold with alternative tenures such as shared ownership, where this is more appropriate for their community.

Right to Buy Scheme

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the residence requirements are for (a) existing right-to-buy entitlements and (b) the proposed extension of right-to-buy to housing association tenants for (i) non-EU foreign nationals, (ii) EU foreign nationals and (iii) UK citizens.

Brandon Lewis: Before 2006 all applicants for Government supported home ownership had to have indefinite leave to remain in the UK. The last Labour Government changed these rules in 2006.Subject to EU Treaty negotiation, we will introduce a residency test for social housing, requiring European Economic Area nationals to have lived in the UK for 4 years. This means that European Economic Area nationals would not be eligible for Right to Buy until they had lived in this country for a minimum of seven years.A tenant must have had a public sector tenancy within the UK for three years before qualifying for Right to Buy.

First Time Buyers: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the average cost of a home bought by a first-time buyer in each of the last 10 years for each London (a) borough and (b) constituency.

Brandon Lewis: Statistics on the average dwelling price for first time buyers in London boroughs and constituencies are not available.Statistics on house prices in England, London, London boroughs and constituencies are published by the Office for National Statistics at:http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl=House+Price+Indices

First Time Buyers: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of first time buyers there were in each London (a) borough and (b) constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Brandon Lewis: The requested information is not available.

Small Businesses: Non-domestic Rates

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of small firms likely to be affected by the expiry of the Small Business Rate Relief scheme at the end of March 2016.

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on recipients of the expiry of the Business Rates Reoccupation Relief scheme at the end of March 2016.

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on recipients of the expiry of the Small Business Rate Relief scheme at the end of March 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government is continuing to consider representations, which included business rates reliefs, to inform decisions on reform of the business rates system. The Government has confirmed the review will conclude by the end of the year.

Homelessness: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many hostel places for the homeless there were in (a) London and (b) each London borough on 1 October in each year since 2008.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department does not hold information regarding the number of places in hostels for rough sleepers in London. It is for London boroughs to determine what homelessness services are required to best meet the needs of their local area, including provision of suitable accommodation.This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. One person without a home is one too many. That is why since 2010 we have invested more than £500 million to prevent and tackle homelessness in England. In London, we have given the Mayor £34 million to help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, with an extra £8.5 million for this work in 2015/16.We have supported local areas, including London, to improve the quality of hostels through the Homelessness Change Programme, which provided £42.5 million of capital funding in 2012 – 2015 for new and refurbished bed spaces and facilities to provide meaningful activities to supporta pathway to independent living. For 2015 – 2017, the Department of Health will make available funding for local areas, including London, to invest in tailored hostel accommodation to improve the physical and mental health of rough sleepers, and successful partnership bids will be announced shortly.

Homelessness

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much was spent on returning people from (a) other countries and (b) non-EU countries who were deemed homeless to their home countries in each year since 2010.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people from (a) other EU countries and (b) non-EU countries who were deemed homeless have been returned to their home countries in each year since 2010.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department does not hold data centrally on the number of voluntary reconnections of non-UK rough sleepers. It is for local authorities to determine what homelessness services are required to best meet the needs of their local area. The Home Officeis responsible for administrative removal operations.We expect people who come to this country to be able to support themselves, and if they cannot find work or accommodation then they should return home. For vulnerable individuals who are sleeping rough on the streets, there are locally funded reconnection services available to help them return to their home countries voluntarily and connect into support services there. In London, the Greater London Authority commission the London Reconnection Team, which is targeted at non-UK nationals with support needs.

Local Plans

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the document, Fixing the Foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, Cm 9098, when he will intervene in local authorities that do not produce local plans.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 21 July, HCWS172, which clarified that in cases where no Local Plan has been produced by early 2017, the Government will intervene to arrange for the plan to be written, in consultation with local people, to accelerate production of the Local Plan.

Homelessness: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many children have been registered as homeless in (a) Ashfield and (b) Broxtowe in each of the last five years.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many 16 and 17 year olds presented as homeless to (a) Ashfield District Council and (b) Broxtowe Borough Council in each of the last five years.

Mr Marcus Jones: The numbers of households with dependent children (including expected children) accepted as homeless in Ashfield and Broxtowe in each of the last five years is shown in the table below. It is not possible to give precise numbers of children in accepted households.The figure for Broxtowe for 2011/12 is less than five and has been suppressed to avoid the risk of disclosing personal information.Data are collected on the numbers of households accepted as being in priority need as a result of the applicant being aged 16 or 17. There were less than 5 such cases in Ashfield and Broxtowe during the last five years combined.PeriodAshfieldBroxtowe2010/111562011/129*2012/131272013/144052014/15358

Parks

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in which towns and cities the Government intends to create pocket parks; and what the estimated cost will be to (a) his Department and (b) the Government of this programme.

Mr Marcus Jones: On Saturday 7 November the Government launched its Pocket Park programme which will provide a total of £1.5 million support to communities in urban areas to establish up to 100 pocket parks, in our busy towns and cities. The programme will support communities and their local authority partners across England and outside London (which has already benefited from funding from the Mayor). Full details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pocket-parks-support-for-communities-to-manage-small-green-spaces.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Publications

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14925, on publications, what deadlines his Department places on its publication of transparency information.

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14925, what for reason his Department's quarterly report of transparency information from July to September 2014 took four months longer to prepare than the report on that information from January to March 2015.

David Mundell: I refer the hon Member to my answer of 9 November 2015 (UIN 14925).

Local Government: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on City Deals for (a) Aberdeen, (b) Edinburgh and (c) Inverness.

David Mundell: I have regular discussions with my Ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including City Deals.Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Inverness all submitted City Deal proposals to the UK and Scottish Government on 4 September. The Scotland Office is working with the Department for Communities and Local Government to study the proposals in depth, as well as discussing them with the Scottish Government to achieve outcomes that benefit both Scotland and the UK.

Abortion: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he had with women's organisations in Scotland prior to his proposal to devolve responsibility for abortion legislation to the Scottish Parliament.

David Mundell: The Smith Commission considered the issue of the devolution of abortion carefully and was ‘strongly of the view to recommend the devolution of abortion' and regarded it as an 'anomalous health reservation.' The Smith Agreement said that ‘further serious consideration should be given to its devolution and a process should be established immediately to consider the matter further.’ That process took place between the UK and Scottish Governments and resulted in an amendment to the Scotland Bill to devolve responsibility for abortion law to the Scottish Parliament. Since laying that amendment the Government has been engaging with interested parties about how the process of devolution will work and it will be for the Scottish Government to set out what approach it will take once responsibility for abortion law rests with the Scottish Parliament. The 1967 Act will continue to apply in Scotland unless and until the Scottish Parliament chooses to legislate in this area, and the First Minister recently confirmed that the Scottish Government have no plans to do so.

HM Treasury

Rates and Rating: Appeals

Grahame Morris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average time taken was for a rating assessment appeal to be considered by the Valuation Office Agency in the last 12 months.

Mr David Gauke: Based on data used to publish the latest Official Statistics, the average time taken to resolve a challenge to the rating list is 13 months for the 2005 list and 14 months for the 2010 list.

Rates and Rating: Appeals

Grahame Morris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many rating assessment appeals are outstanding with the Valuation Office Agency.

Mr David Gauke: The information requested can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-challenges-and-changes-experimental

Taxation

Owen Smith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the change in tax revenue as a result of the introduction of new pension freedoms.

Harriett Baldwin: The expected impact over the forecast period of the changes made to private pensions taxation as announced at Budget 2014 can be found in Table 2.1 (p.56) of the Budget 2014 document here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293759/37630_Budget_2014_Web_Accessible.pdfFollowing a consultation period the Chancellor made subsequent announcements relating to this measure. The Exchequer impact of these can be found in Table 2.1 (p.65) of the Autumn Statement 2014 document here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/382327/44695_Accessible.pdf

Banks

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the vulnerability of the UK banking system to a Russian debt default; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England identifies, monitors and addresses risks to the UK financial system; including overseas exposures.The FPC regularly publishes the indicators that it considers when formulating policy, and this includes all countries to which UK banks have large or rapidly growing total exposure. The most recent indicators (for Q2 2015) can be found on the Bank of England’s website using the link below.http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financialstability/Pages/fpc/coreindicators.aspx

Welfare Tax Credits

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much is owed in overpaid tax credits.

Damian Hinds: This information is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449343/HMRC_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2014-15__Web_accessible_version_.pdf

Welfare Tax Credits: Foreign Nationals

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13969, what information his Department has to help inform policy development on the payment of child and tax credits to foreign nationals.

Damian Hinds: In his speech on Europe on November 10th, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the Government’s proposal that people coming to Britain from the EU must live here and contribute for 4 years before they qualify for in work benefits or social housing. This proposal is included in the Prime Minister’s letter to Mr. Tusk.DWP’s statistical release from November 10th explained that it is estimated that, at March 2013, between 37 and 45% of the EEA nationals (excluding students) who were resident in the UK having arrived in the preceding 4 years were in households claiming either an in-work or out-of-work benefit or tax credit.This represents between 195,000 and 235,000 EEA nationals in recently arrived households claiming benefits or tax credits at March 2013 out of 525,000 recently arrived EEA nationals resident in the UK at March 2013.

PAYE

Stella Creasy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of employees paying tax through PAYE and (b) amount paid by such employees on service charges, tips, cover charges and gratuities administered via workplace payrolls for each financial year from 2010 to 2014.

Mr David Gauke: The information requested is as follows: 2010-11 = 42.6m2011-12 = 42.6m2012-13 = 42.6m2013-14 = 43.7m2014-15 = 44.7mThis information is not held by HMRC.

Welfare Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many reports his Department has received of HM Revenue and Customs' online renewal system failing to record and register information and supporting documentation submitted by claimants wishing to renew their claim for (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit in each of the last two years.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) did not receive any reports of the online renewal system failing to record and register information submitted by claimants renewing their 2013-14 claim.HMRC received one report of the online renewal system failing to record and register information submitted by claimants renewing their 2014-15 claim.HMRC do not hold the requested data broken down by Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit

Revenue and Customs: Cumbernauld

John Mc Nally: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will visit the HM Revenue and Customs workforce in Cumbernauld to discuss their long-term employment at the tax centre there.

Mr David Gauke: There are no current plans for ministers to visit the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) office in Cumbernauld. HMRC continues to engage its workforce on its transformation through a series of staff events. Further details of these plans were announced on 12 November.

Revenue and Customs: Preston

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Answer of 30 October 2015 to Question 13346, if he will make it his policy to introduce a dedicated team at the tax credit office in Preston constituency to deal with tax credit cases referred to them by hon. Members.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) already has three units which deal specifically with representations from hon. Members in relation to their constituents’ concerns: a dedicated MP hotline for Tax Credits, an MP complaints team that deals with tax credit complaints, and an HMRC Ministerial correspondence team.The dedicated MP hotline is a telephone helpline to assist MPs, MEPs, MSPs, Welsh Assembly Members and their staff when dealing with constituents’ Tax Credit issues. Advisors deal with around 11,500 calls per year.

Concentrix

Stephen Doughty: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many representations he has received from (a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public on the activities of Concentrix on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs.

Mr David Gauke: There have been eight parliamentary questions on this topic: six in the current parliament (references 6489, 9146, 12045, 13712, 14126 and 14147) and two in the previous Parliament (references 228744 and 228762).Since March 2015, nineteen representations have been made to Treasury Ministers and two to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by, or on behalf of, members of the public concerning the activities of Concentrix on behalf of HMRC.

Productivity

Seema Malhotra: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of increasing the provision of export finance in productivity.

Greg Hands: Trade increases UK productivity by allowing firms to specialise in sectors in which the UK has a comparative advantage, and through exposure to new ideas and international competition.

Productivity

Seema Malhotra: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the British Business Bank will support UK productivity.

Greg Hands: The British Business Bank aims to make finance markets work better for smaller businesses. The Bank’s work improves productivity by encouraging investment and promoting a dynamic economy.

Economic Situation: Northern Ireland

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he and his Cabinet colleagues have had with their counterparts in the Irish government on the potential effect of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on all-island trade and the economy of Northern Ireland.

Mr David Gauke: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As has been the practice adopted by previous administrations, it is not Government policy to normally release details of such meetings.

World Economy

Diana Johnson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 14136, what work the Government has undertaken to implement the commitments made in paragraphs (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3, (d) 8 and (e) 10 of the 2013 Lough Erne G8 Leaders' Communiqué since January 2014; and what assessment he  has made of the level of progress against those commitments.

Mr David Gauke: Since January 2014 the Prime Minister has updated the house on 11 June 2014 and 10 June 2015 following the G7 Summits. The UK presidency focused on 3 Ts: tax, transparency and trade.On tax there has been significant progress on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) the major international agreement to realign taxation with economic activities and value creation. In October 2015 the OECD issued the final BEPS outputs, which were endorsed by G20 Finance Ministers. The UK has made significant progress including: consulting on implementing rules to address hybrid mismatches arrangements and issuing draft secondary legislation to implement Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting, a template for multinational companies to report profit and tax information to tax authorities, in the UK in line with the internationally agreed timetable. In addition, in February 2014 G20 Finance Ministers endorsed the OECD’s new global standard for Automatic Exchange of Information of tax. All G20 Finance Ministers committed to first exchange by end-2018 in September, with 10 G20 countries including the UK committing to begin exchange in 2017.With regards to transparency, in March 2015 the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act received Royal Assent, establishing a public registry of company beneficial ownership that will show who ultimately owns and controls in-scope UK companies. The register will be operational from June 2016 and the UK is undertaking a wider review of corporate transparency.On trade, the Government has furthered international free trade agreements (FTA), with negotiations on an EU-Canada FTA finalised in August 2014. The EU and Japan held a constructive round of Free Trade Agreements negotiations in October 2015. The EU-US FTA 11th Round of negotiations took place in Miami 19-23 October 2015.

Slavery

Paul Blomfield: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2015 to Question 13786, what (a) arrears, (b) compensation and (c) other remedies have been issued to victims of modern slavery in relation to the 60 cases opened since February 2015.

Paul Blomfield: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2015 to Question 13786, what penalties have been issued to employers in relation to the 60 cases opened since February 2015.

Mr David Gauke: None of the investigations opened in February 2015 have yet concluded. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) cannot comment on on-going investigations.HMRC’s role in these investigations is to ensure that the correct tax is paid and any employees who are entitled to the National Minimum Wage receive it.

Children: Day Care

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of tax credit claimants who will be eligible for the Government's planned 30 hours of free childcare per week; and what the average reduction in childcare cost will be for each such claimant.

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of tax credit claimants receive 30 hours of free childcare per week once the childcare costs disregard for housing benefit has been accounted for.

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of tax credit claimants who claim housing benefit are entitled to a higher rate of housing benefit due to the childcare cost disregard.

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax credit claimants have a child aged (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four.

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of tax credit claimants have a child under the age of five and claim support for childcare costs.

Damian Hinds: This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.As announced at Summer Budget, the Chancellor announced that free entitlement childcare would be doubled from 15 hours to 30 for working parents. This will not be rolled out until September 2017, with early implementation in some areas in September 2016.Information about the age, gender and number of children in receipt of tax credits can be found in HMRC’s Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics, April 2015. Available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-provisional-statistics-2013-to-2009

Welfare Tax Credits: Families

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14749, if his Department will estimate the number of families whose income will be reduced as a result of proposed changes to tax credits.

Damian Hinds: This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor has made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

National Infrastructure Commission

Chi Onwurah: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the Government decided on the priorities for the National Infrastructure Commission; and for what reason digital connectivity was not chosen as one of those providers.

Greg Hands: The Commission’s first three priority studies concern some of the most pressing infrastructure issues facing the country. They were chosen because independent quality advice will help Government make a better decision and accelerate the process of getting infrastructure built. The Commission will examine digital connectivity when it conducts its first long-term needs assessment.

Energy: Taxation

Rob Marris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of business energy taxation on productivity between (a) 2005 and 2010, (b) 2010 and 2015 and (c) 2015 and 2020.

Damian Hinds: ‘Fixing the Foundations’, published in July 2015, sets out the government objective of encouraging long term investment in economic capital to boost the productivity of the UK economy. The efficient use of energy can increase the amount of economic output possible for a given level of energy supply, boosting business productivity. A recent HM Treasury consultation, ‘Reforming the Business Energy Efficiency Tax Landscape’ set out proposals to boost business productivity by minimising administrative burdens and addressing perverse incentives to encourage productive long term investment that supports a dynamic economy. The consultation closed on 9 November 2015 and the government will respond to the consultation in due course.

Tobacco: Smuggling

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the illegal trade of cigarettes in Northern Ireland.

Damian Hinds: Estimates of the volume and total revenue losses associated with the tobacco illicit market are published in ‘Tobacco Tax Gap Estimates 2014 to 2015’.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tobacco-tax-gap-estimatesThese estimates cannot be broken down on a regional basis.The methodology for producing the estimates are provided in the ‘Measuring Tax Gaps 2015 edition: Methodological Annex’.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/469973/HMRC-Measuring-tax-gaps-2015-methodological-annex.pdf

Infrastructure: Easington

Grahame Morris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Government spent on each infrastructure project in Easington constituency in each of the last five years.

Greg Hands: The information requested is not held centrally. More than 100 infrastructure schemes have been delivered in the North East since 2010. There are 27 projects and programmes in the National Infrastructure Pipeline (published July 2015) with a total capital value of £5 billion, as well as cross-regional and UK-wide projects and programmes.

UK Membership of EU: Northern Ireland

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that uncertainty about the outcome of the EU referendum does not affect inward investment in Northern Ireland.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has a clear mandate to improve Britain’s relationship with the rest of the EU, and to reform the EU so that it creates jobs and increases living standards for all its citizens. As the Prime Minister has made clear, this is about providing the certainty and reform that businesses have asked for. The CBI and BCC have come out to say they support the reform agenda the Prime Minister is seeking to deliver.As the Chancellor of the Exchequer has noted, the best outcome for the UK economy is that we achieve major economic reform of the EU. The Prime Minister is focused on success: he believes he can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis.

Gift Aid

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, in cases where a person has registered a donation to a charity for gift aid but ended the year below the income threshold for income tax, whether it is the policy of HM Revenue and Customs to reclaim the gift aid from the (a) donor or (b) charity; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much gift aid has been (a) requested and (b) reclaimed from (i) donors and (ii) charities in circumstances in which people making registered charitable donations for gift aid ended the year below the income tax threshold in each of the last five years.

Damian Hinds: Individual donors are responsible for ensuring that they have paid sufficient tax to cover any Gift Aid reclaimed on their donations.In practice, where HMRC identifies tax to cover issues as a result of its compliance activity with a charity, it may invite the charity to make good any shortfall on behalf of their donors. The charity is not legally obliged to repay any over-claimed Gift Aid and the responsibility always remains that of the donor.Details of how much Gift Aid is reclaimed separately from donors and charities is not available.

Offences against Children

Tim Loughton: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department agreed a grant to the Wave Trust to fund the Pioneer Communities Project; and how much that grant was for.

Tim Loughton: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the funding offer for the Pioneer Communities Project was withdrawn; and what the basis was for the withdrawal.

Tim Loughton: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions took place between his Department and the Department for Education about the allocation of funds to the Pioneer Communities Project.

Tim Loughton: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria were attached to the granting of a grant to the Wave Trust to fund the Pioneer Communities Project.

Greg Hands: The Government announced at Autumn Statement 2014 funding for the Department for Education for an “Early intervention pilot for 0-2 year olds – to pilot a new approach to ensure that the most effective early intervention actions are taken during a child’s earliest years, to prevent avoidable problems later.”This measure was to be delivered by the Department for Education, who worked with a number of stakeholders including Her Majesty’s Treasury, the Wave Trust and the Early Intervention Foundation to identify options to deliver the project.As no contract has been signed for this measure, in June 2015 the Department for Education undertook not to proceed with the measure in this financial year.

Treasury: Staff

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) complaints and (b) investigations into complaints made by civil servants against special advisers in his Department (i) have been made in each of the last five years and (ii) are currently ongoing.

Harriett Baldwin: There have been no a) complaints and b) investigations into complaints made by civil servants against special advisers in HM Treasury either in the last five years nor are there any currently ongoing.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Environment Protection: Job Creation

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to support the creation of jobs through low carbon growth (a) within and (b) outside the UK.

Andrea Leadsom: The ONS will publish estimates of the number of people directly employed in the low carbon economy in December 2015. Notwithstanding this, the Government’s commitment to low carbon infrastructure helps support many thousands of highly skilled jobs across the economy. For example, the proposed new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C is estimated to support around 25,000 jobs, of which 7,000 are local. Similarly, the two Siemens offshore wind facilities in Hull announced in 2014 are estimated to support 1,000 direct jobs and 300 construction jobs. Internationally, low carbon strategies and potential jobs that arise from them will be guided by countries’ delivery of their intended contributions to a global climate change agreement. The UKis committed to supporting the world’s poorest to become more resilient to the effects of a changing climate and to take the clean energy path to growth and prosperity. Its international climate finance has helped support the creation of 39,000 jobs in developing countries up to April this year in relation to low carbon climate resilience.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she plans to close the feed-in tariff scheme in January 2016; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: The FIT review consultation was published on 27 August and closed on 23 October. The review proposed changes to generation tariffs and tariff bands and included proposals on cost control measures, such as capping deployment, in order to put the scheme onto an affordable and sustainable footing. An option to close the scheme, should cost control measures not be sufficient to achieve this, was also set out in the consultation.We have received nearly 55,000 responses to the consultation. We are currently analysing these responses and will do so as quickly as possible. We will publish a Government response in due course.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many responses her Department received to the recent consultation on a review of the feed-in tariff scheme.

Andrea Leadsom: We have received nearly 55,000 responses. We currently estimate that just over 2,600 are unique and detailed responses; the rest are briefer and more uniform responses, generated by campaigns. We will assess and evaluate all responses and will respond in due course.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will establish an examination of objections to her departmental minute of 21 October 2015 including the entering into contracts regarding the Hinkley Point C power station that could give rise to liabilities.

Andrea Leadsom: I will be writing to hon. Members who have signed EDM 619, in which I will respond to the objection. I will deposit a copy of the response in the Libraries of the House.

Department of Energy and Climate Change: Families

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many of her Department's policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps she has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments that have been carried out; and if she will make a statement.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to implement the family test.

Andrea Leadsom: The Family Test was announced by my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister in August 2014, and introduced in October 2014. DWP published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and the Department follows that guidance:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf.The Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance.The objective of the Test is to introduce a family perspective to the policy making process, specifically to make the potential impacts on family functioning and relationships explicit.DECC has not applied the Test to date but is considering where it is appropriate to do so. In addition where relevant, DECC already publishes in Impact Assessments analysis of the impact of policies on energy bills across different types of households.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she plans to publish the Government's response to the consultation on a review of the feed-in tariff scheme.

Andrea Leadsom: We will publish the Government's response in due course.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11089, what statistical analysis or impact assessment her Department has made of the effect of the proposed cut to feed-in tariffs on small businesses in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: In addition to the impact assessment published alongside the FIT review, part of the purpose of the consultation process itself has been to gather views on the broader economic impact of the proposals. We are currently analysing feedback submitted during the consultation, which closed on 23rd October. We will publish a Government response in due course.

Local Authorities: Energy

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on reducing energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department of Energy and Climate Change provides the following guidance and support to Local Authorities: a Model Energy Performance Contract and guidance note to assist public sector organisations carry out energy efficiency retrofits and a Guide to Financing Energy Efficiency in the Public Sector. The Department also requested the Committee on Climate Change to produce a guidance note for local authorities on reducing their carbon emissions in 2012.A number of schemes run by the Department also provide guidance as part ofwider support to public sector organisations, such as the Salix Finance public sector energy efficiency loan scheme which provides interest-free capital and the RE:FIT scheme which provides a streamlined procurement framework for energy efficiency retrofit work.

Housing: Energy

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many domestic customers (a) Scottish Power, (b) SSE, (c) E.on, (d) British Gas, (e) EDF, (f) Npower, (g) First Utility, (h) Ovo and (i) Cooperative Energy each have.

Andrea Leadsom: Ofgem publishes market share of energy suppliers based on monthly domestic customer numbers as part of its yearly Great Britain and Northern Ireland National Reports to the European Commission, most recently published in 2014. In this report smaller suppliers including First Utility, OVO and Co-operative Energy are grouped together as ‘Other Suppliers’.GB Domestic Energy Suppliers’ Market Share, December 2013SupplierElectricity Market ShareGas Market ShareBritish Gas24%39%SSE18%15%E.on16%13%EDF13%9%Scottish Power12%9%RWE npower12%10%Other Suppliers5%5%First Utility, OVO and Co-operative Energy have released customer numbers on their websites. First Utility claim to have over 800,000 customers in July 2015, OVO claim to currently have 500,000 customers, while Co-operative Energy claim to have over 200,000 customers. The majority of these Customers will take both electricity and gas from their supplier.

Local Authorities: Carbon Emissions

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the progress of local authorities in reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department of Energy and Climate Change annually requests that local authorities in England measure, and report on their websites, greenhouse gas emissions data for their own estate and operations. The exercise enables local authorities to make assessments of their own progress against previous years and also against other local authorities.

Energy: Prices

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the average annual energy bill for domestic customers of (a) Scottish Power, (b) SSE, (c) Eon, (d) British Gas, (e) EDF, (f) NPower, (g) First Utility, (h) Ovo and (i) Cooperative Energy in 2014.

Andrea Leadsom: DECC collect data from the energy companies in order to provide estimates of the average annual domestic bills. Data is provided in confidence and therefore DECC do not disclose this data. DECC do not calculate or publish estimates of average annual bills by supplier.

Oil: Refineries

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that oil produced in UK waters is sent to oil refineries in the UK.

Andrea Leadsom: The UK encourages a well-functioning global market for oil and oil products. The UK’s 6 refineries are well supplied by both domestically produced and imported crude oil, which they purchase in line with their commercial strategy. This diversity and flexibility of supply ensures that UK refineries and consumers are able to benefit from the most affordable prices.

Energy: Productivity

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the contribution of the energy sector to productivity between (a) 2005 and 2010, (b) 2010 and 2015 and (c) 2015 and 2020.

Andrea Leadsom: Information is available from the DECC UK energy sector indicators 20151 report on changes in the labour productivity of the energy sector; data from this report is presented in Table 1 below, covering the period 2005-2014. Projections to 2020 are not available.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-energy-sector-indicators-2015

Fracking

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2015 to Question 13387, what information her Department holds on the number of sites approved for fracking in England and Wales; what the location is of each such site; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: There are currently no sites approved for fracking in England and Wales. Any operator would need a Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence (PEDL) in place before commencing hydrocarbon operations. A PEDL does not, in and of itself, allow an operator to commence hydrocarbon operations. Rather, they grant exclusivity to licensees within a defined area. All operations would also require local planning permission,Environment Agency permits, Health and Safety Executive scrutiny, Oil and Gas Authority consent and access agreement(s) with relevant landowner(s).The Infrastructure Act 2015 introduced a range of further requirements that must be met before an operator can carry out hydraulic fracturing in a responsible, sustainable and safe manner. A hydraulic fracturing consent will not be issued unless my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State is satisfied that the conditions are met. The Secretary of State must also be satisfied that it is appropriate to issue the consent.

Electricity: Prices

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will list the average wholesale price for electricity in (a) nominal and (b) real pounds sterling for each year from 2000 to 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: DECC receives wholesale prices data from Argus Media on a daily basis. The following table shows the yearly average of day-ahead baseload prices since 2001 when this data is available from. We have converted the daily data into a yearly average, and converted nominal data into real data using HM Treasury’s GDP deflators1.Calendar YearYearly Average (nominal)Yearly Average (2014 prices)2015*41.541.9**201442.542.5201350.851.7201245.347.0201148.350.9201042.045.2200937.841.9200874.884.7200731.136.2200642.651.0200539.548.7200423.329.6200321.327.9200216.822.52001***21.329.4Source: Argus Media* Data available until November 11th 2015** Percentage change on previous year in line with July 2015 Budget *** Data available since October 15th 2001[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp-october-2015-the-blue-book.

Electricity: Prices

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what difference there is between the wholesale price for electricity and the representative market price for baseload electricity referred to in her Departmental Minute of 21 October 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department has used projections of the baseload wholesale price of electricity to calculate the support payments for Hinkley Point C in the Departmental Minute of 21 October 2015. They are therefore consistent with the reference price as referred to in the Annex of the same Minute.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information her Department holds on the date when EDF ordered the pressure vessel heads for Hinkley Point C; and how many pressure vessel heads for Hinkley Point C have already been manufactured.

Andrea Leadsom: Supply of components for Hinkley Point C are a matter for EDF. The construction of Hinkley Point C, including the safety of pressure vessel heads, will be subject to regulation by the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

Nuclear Power: Costs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the cost per megawatt hour of electricity is from the (a) Hunterston B, (b) Heysham 1&2, (c) Torness, (d) Hatlepool, (e) Sizewell, (f) Dungeness B and (g) Hinkley Point C power stations.

Andrea Leadsom: As EDF own Hunterston B, Heysham 1 and 2, Torness, Hartlepool, Sizewell and Dungeness, the cost per megawatt hour is a matter for them. Under the proposed Contract for Difference for Hinkley Point C, the Strike Price (in 2012 figures) is £92.50/MWh fully indexed to the Consumer Price Index.If Sizewell C receives a CFD (or equivalent), or advances to first nuclear island concrete pour for the project, prior to the commissioning of the first reactor at Hinkley point C, the Strike Price for Hinkley Point C will be reduced to £89.50/MWh. This reduction is provided for on the assumption that EDF will be able to share ‘first of a kind’ costs of EPR reactors across Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C sites.

Sizewell C Power Station

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she expects to make a decision to proceed with an order for a European pressurised reactor at Sizewell C.

Andrea Leadsom: EDF have announced they intend to deploy two EPR reactors at Sizewell C but have not yet confirmed a timescale for the project. It is therefore too soon to indicate a timescale for the planning and regulatory consents which such a project would need, although the EPR has already successfully completed the Generic Design Assessment process.

Bradwell Power Station

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she will make a decision to proceed with the order for a Chinese-designed reactor at Bradwell.

Andrea Leadsom: EDF and its partner CGN have announced they intend to develop a new nuclear power station at Bradwell but have not yet confirmed a timescale for the project. It is therefore too soon to indicate a timescale for the planning and regulatory consents which such a project would need.

Hinkley Point C Power Station: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the amount of £4 to £19 billion referred to in her Departmental Minute of 21 October 2015 as the total support to HPC is (a) the actual total cash amount or (b) the present value of the total cash amount of the support to be paid to EDF.

Andrea Leadsom: Total support to HPC through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) is expected to be in the range of £4bn to £19bn (real 2012 prices, discounted to 2012) depending on the level of future wholesale prices. The Department has presented discounted figures for these costs to consumers relating to support payments for Hinkley Point C based on guidance set out in The Green Book published by HM Treasury.

Housing: Energy

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of households are with their home, regional incumbent, supplier for electricity and gas in each electricity supply region.

Andrea Leadsom: DECC estimate the regional market share of the incumbent supplier compared to the rest of the Big Six. These are published by Public Electricity Supply (PES) region in tables 2.4.1 and 2.5.1 of Quarterly Energy Prices.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quarterly-domestic-energy-price-stasticsProportions of GB households with their home suppler by PES Region – June 2015RegionElectricity GasWest Midlands27%43%North East28%35%Yorkshire28%42%North West30%45%Eastern33%42%Merseyside & N Wales33%46%East Midlands34%38%South East35%38%South West37%41%London41%50%South Scotland41%41%Southern46%38%South Wales55%32%North Scotland65%34%Smaller suppliers now account for around 10 per cent of the domestic market, so the above figures overstate the proportion of households with their home supplier. DECC do not have a regional break down of data for these small suppliers.

Wind Power: Finance

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what provisions she plans to make for onshore wind projects that have achieved everything technically, been granted planning permission, and have grid connection contract but are outside the grace period and are contracts for difference (CFD); and whether she plans a CFD for those projects.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government was elected with a commitment to end new subsidies for onshore wind and to change the law so that local people have the final say on onshore windfarm applications. Government support is designed to help technologies stand on their own two feet, not encourage reliance on subsidies. Officials are considering how we use the tools available under the CFD to implement this commitment and will set out our plans in due course.

Offshore Industry

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she plans to (a) launch a public consultation on her Strategy to Maximise Economic Recovery of North Sea oil and gas reserves, and (b) lay the final version of that strategy before Parliament.

Andrea Leadsom: Our oil and gas industry is incredibly important. It supports around 375,000 jobs, provides secure energy for our homes and businesses and generates billions of pounds for our economy every year, at home and through exports. The industry is an essential part of the Government’s plans to provide a secure, reliable energy source to UK homes for decades to come and we are committed to backing it.We are working hard to implement the recommendations of the Wood Review – most importantly setting up the Oil and Gas Authority and, even with the challenges presented by lower oil prices, the North Sea still provides opportunities and remains fully open for business.The consultation will be launched shortly. The Strategy will be laid before Parliament after the consultation has closed and Government has considered the responses it receives.

Solar Power: Yorkshire and the Humber

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the change in the number of jobs in the solar sector that will be lost as a result of the Government changes to the feed-in tariff in (a) Barnsley East, (b) Barnsley, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) Yorkshire and the Humber.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government proposed changes to the feed-in tariff scheme (FITs) as part of the FIT review, on which we consulted widely between 27th August and 23rd October.Part of the purpose of that consultation was to gather views on the broader economic impact of the proposals. The actual impact on the sector will, of course, depend on the options taken forward after all responses to the consultation have been considered. We are currently analysing feedback submitted during the consultation and intend to publish a Government response in due course.

Fracking

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department has taken to assess the impact of hydraulic fracturing in (a) national parks and (b) other environmentally sensitive areas.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government issued guidance on its planning policy on unconventional hydrocarbon development in National Parks, the Broads, AONBs and World Heritage Sites in July 2014, which clearly sets out the high level of protection accorded to these areas in respect to development.1In addition, in July 2015 the Government laid draft regulations that define protected areas in which hydraulic fracturing will be prohibited. These regulations ensure that the process of high volume hydraulic fracturing cannot take place at depths above 1200 metres in National Parks, the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, World Heritage Sites and areas that are most vulnerable to groundwater pollution.2We have also separately committed to ensuring that fracking cannot be conducted from wells that are drilled in the UK’s most valuable areas and are minded to apply these in Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Ramsar and Natura 2000 sites, as well as the areas covered by the draft Protected Areas regulations.3[1]http://planningguidance.communities.gov.uk/blog/guidance/minerals/planning-for-hydrocarbon-extraction/determining-the-planning-application/2]https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-defines-protected-areas-for-shale-developments[3]https://www.gov.uk/guidance/oil-and-gas-licensing-rounds#surface-development-restrictions

Nuclear Reactors: China

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13044, what assessment she has made of reasons for the delays in constructing reactors in China as requested in that question.

Andrea Leadsom: Whilst being a minority partner in the Taishan project, EDF expect Taishan to start generating power before the EPR at Flamanville in France, which EDF have estimated will be by the end of 2018.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the evidential basis is for the Prime Minister's statement to the press of 21 October 2015 that Hinkley Point nuclear power station will produce reliable and affordable electricity.

Andrea Leadsom: Nuclear power is a proven technology which can provide large quantities of electricity continuously, reliably and predictably. Our analysis suggests Hinkley Point C will be cost-competitive with the other technologies that can be deployed at scale in the 2020s and that it will help provide affordable base load power to complement other low-carbon sources that we need to decarbonise the power sector by 2050.

Cabinet Office

Freedom of Information

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will bring forward proposals to add the (a) Surveillance Camera Commissioner and (b) Office of the Biometrics Commissioner to Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 02 November 2015



The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) already extends to over 100,000 public authorities. We constantly keep the list of bodies covered by the FOIA under review.

Local Government: Procurement

Richard Burden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how he plans to implement his policy on local authority procurement policies in relation to boycotts, divestments and sanctions against other countries and the UK defence industry announced on 3 October 2015.

Richard Burden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when developing his Department's policy on local authority procurement policies and companies' investment and divestment decisions announced on 3 October 2015.

Matthew Hancock: Cabinet Office will shortly issue guidance that reminds public authorities of their international obligations when letting public contracts. Foreign policy is not a matter for local authorities. The guidance will make clear that boycotts in public procurement are inappropriate and may be illegal, outside where formal legal sanctions, embargoes and restrictions that have been put in place by the Government.

Cabinet Office: Public Expenditure

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent in (a) real terms and (b) as a proportion of departmental spending on (i) temporary agency staff, (ii) consultants, (iii) non-payroll staff, (iv) administration and (v) marketing and advertising for each year since 2010-11.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office accounts for each financial year since 2009-10 are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cabinet-office-annual-reports-and-accounts These provide a segment break down for temporary agency staff, consultants, non-payroll staff and administration. Spend on marketing and advertising is not held centrally and is therefore only available at disproportionate cost.

Cabinet Office: Contracts

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) contracts and (b) sub-contracts (i) his Department and (ii) agencies of his Department have awarded (A) Netcracker Technology and (B) Computer Sciences Corporation.

Matthew Hancock: Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:http://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archiveThose published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Cabinet Office: Families

Nic Dakin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.

Matthew Hancock: Officials in my Department have liaised with the Department for Work and Pensions as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it into the policy process. This has included training officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice.

Proof of Identity

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many users are on the Verify identity verification system.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he expects the Verify identity assurance system to be fully operational; and what services he expects to be included in that system.

Matthew Hancock: Having a successful identity assurance system that can be used across government is a crucial part of our plan to protect the government from cyber attacks, and to allow the Government to implement its plan for digital transformation. GOV.UK Verify is currently in beta and will go live in due course.GOV.UK Verify has verified 310,000 user identities.

Ministers: Codes of Practice

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has had discussions with (a) the UN Secretary General, (b) the President of the International Criminal Court and (c) the President of the International Court of Justice on the recent amendments to the ministerial code and compliance with international treaties.

Matthew Hancock: The government publishes details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations as part of its wider commitment to transparency at www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications.

Breast Cancer

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what data is collected on the number of people who have primary breast cancer twice.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Primary Breast Cancer
(PDF Document, 63.46 KB)

Civil Servants: Performance Related Pay

Paul Flynn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to end civil service performance quotas.

Mr Oliver Letwin: This Government is fully committed to delivering its manifesto. This is why we have introduced the Single Departmental Plans as a new framework for performance tracking. Single departmental plans will replace departmental Business Plans and are currently being finalised by departments. Single Departmental Plans will set out each department’s priority objectives, and the key programmes and policies that will deliver these. They will be published on gov.uk, allowing the public to track progress against a number of performance indicators. Single Departmental Plans are owned by departments and have been designed by Cabinet Office and HM Treasury working in partnership. Officials have been actively engaging with departments to ensure that the plans provide a complete picture of the measures this Government is taking to deliver its commitments.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Families

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many of her Department's policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps she has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments that have been carried out; and if she will make a statement.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to implement the family test.

George Eustice: The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. DWP published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and my Department follows that guidance:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf.The Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance. While the guidance states that departments should consider publishing assessments carried out under the Test, there is no requirement to do so.

Food: Waste

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November to Question 14627, what estimate her Department has made of the total funding that will be available to the Waste and Resources Action Programme in each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: Future funding of WRAP will depend on the outcome of the current spending review.

Pets: Sales

Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to extend the provisions of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 to include pet shops.

Rory Stewart: Pet shop owners must be licensed by their Local Authority, which will have regard to the provision of suitable accommodation for the animals, including ones that may be considered dangerous, before granting such a licence and specifying any additional conditions.The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (DWAA) provides an exemption from its licensing requirements for those animals kept in licensed pet shops and there are currently no plans to extend the provisions of the DWAA to include such establishments.

Pets: Sales

Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to amend the licensing schedule under the Pet Animals Act 1951 to make it species specific.

George Eustice: Defra is reviewing the Pet Animals Act 1951 as part of a wider review of some of the animal related licensing schemes. We are aiming to consult on a set of proposals shortly.

Boats: Safety Measures

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to respond to recommendation 2015/105 from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch in its 2/2015 Investigation Report, on adoption of the Boat Safety Scheme by the Lake District National Park Authority.

Rory Stewart: The National Park and the Broads Authorities are independent bodies operating within the local government framework and therefore it is for the Lake District National Park Authority to decide whether to adopt the recommendation to implement the Boat Safety Scheme. I understand the National Park Authority will shortly be seeking its members’ views on the recommendation.

Shellfish: Animal Welfare

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that crustaceans being sold in UK retail or wholesale premises are not still alive and sealed in plastic bags.

George Eustice: There are no proposals to introduce controls on the packing of live crustaceans for purposes of animal welfare. The UK Sea Fish Industry Authority advises they should be handled carefully, stored at consistent temperatures, not allowed to dry out and never dropped. Lobsters should be kept cool and if wrapped, perforated material should be used.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Public Expenditure

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department spent on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising (i) in 2014-15 prices and (ii) as a proportion of her Department's expenditure in each year since 2010-11.

George Eustice: The Department’s expenditure is audited and published each year. Annual reports and accounts for each of the last five years are available here:www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2010-11www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2011-to-2012--6www.gov.uk/government/publications/defra-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Public Expenditure

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's  forecast expenditure against Departmental Expenditure Limits is in 2015-16; and what her Department's forecast Annually Managed expenditure in 2015-16 was (a) at the time of the March Budget, (b) at the time of the Summer Budget and (c) on 10 November 2015.

George Eustice: Departmental Expenditure Limits for 2015-16 were updated at the Summer Budget. Table 2.3 of the Summer Budget document contains the latest plans for Resource DEL excluding depreciation and Capital DEL. A link is provided below.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-budget-2015Totals for Annually Managed Expenditure are published twice a year at Main and Supplementary Estimates. The latest figures for 2015-16 were published in the Main Estimates, presented to the House of Commons on 2 July 2015. A link is provided below. Updated totals will be published in the Supplementary Estimates later in the financial year.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/main-supply-estimates-2015-to-2016

Food: Waste

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with European counterparts on progress they have made in tackling the waste of imperfect food.

Rory Stewart: The successful action we have taken in the UK through our voluntary approach has put us at the forefront in tackling food waste. This was reflected in our recent response to the European Commission’s consultations on the Circular Economy.Discussions with our European counterparts on these matters will take place following publication of the Commission’s proposals on the Circular Economy.

Food: Waste

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with supermarkets on reducing the amount of food that is wasted because it is not considered aesthetically appealing to customers.

Rory Stewart: The Government, through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), is working with food manufacturers and retailers, including all the major UK supermarkets, to meet targets to reduce food waste from the grocery supply chain under the Courtauld Commitment. Signatories have reported a 7.4% reduction in supply chain waste between 2009-2012, with interim results for Courtauld 3 showing a further 3.2% reduction by 2014.WRAP has worked with supermarkets and consumers to support acceptance and use of ‘imperfect’ fruit and vegetables. Work is also in progress with signatories, trade bodies and redistribution organisations to build a better understanding of the amounts and causes of waste in the supply of food & drink. WRAP is currently brokering a new agreement, Courtauld 2025, which will build on this progress.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Redundancy

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much (a) her Department and (b) each of its arm's length bodies has spent on staff redundancies in each of the last five years.

George Eustice: The cost of compulsory redundancies is set out in Defra’s Annual Report and Accounts. These are published annually on GOV.UK and links are provided below.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defra-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2011-to-2012--6https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2010-11

Food: Waste

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recent figures on household food waste published by the Waste and Resources Action Programme; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce domestic food waste.

Rory Stewart: Working through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), we are helping households waste less and save money through the Courtauld Commitment and the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. They have contributed to a 15% reduction in the amount of household food and drink waste between 2007 and 2012, from 8.3 m tonnes to 7.0 m tonnes. The current phase of the Courtauld Commitment has a target to reduce household food waste by a further 5% by the end of this year.In addition, signatories have reported a 7.4% reduction in supply chain waste between 2009 and 2012, with interim results for Courtauld 3 showing a further 3.2% reduction by 2014.WRAP is currently brokering a new agreement, Courtauld 2025, which is expected to start next year and will build on this progress.

Waste

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2015 to Question 14616, what estimate her Department has made of the number of signatories to the (a) Cortauld Commitment 3, (b) Electrical and Electronic Equipment Sustainability Action Plan, (c) Hospitality and Food Service Agreement and (d) Sustainable Clothing Action Plan in each of the last five years.

Rory Stewart: The number of signatories to the voluntary agreements in the last five years is as follows:Courtauld Commitment 2/3 (signatories):53 from Aug 2011ESAP Electrical and Electronic Equipment Sustainability Action Plan (signatories):50 at launch, Nov 2014;70 at Nov 2015.Hospitality and Food Service Agreement (signatories plus supporters*):73 at launch in Jun 2012;171 in Nov 13;over 200 in Dec 14226 in Nov 2015.SCAP 2020 Commitment (signatories plus supporters*):22, at launch in Jun 2013;68 at Dec 2014;82 at Nov 2015.*Supporters also take an active role in promoting activities which support the Commitments

Water Companies

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report by the National Audit Office, The economic regulation of the water sector, HC487; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that customers benefit from water companies' unexpected financial gains.

Rory Stewart: We accept the recommendation that we should develop further our assessments of the affordability and cost-effectiveness of environmental improvements. The Environment Agency has recently published the most comprehensive cost-benefit appraisal ever conducted for improving the water environment in England.The remaining recommendations of the report are for Ofwat, the independent economic regulator of the water sector. Its independence is crucial to ensure stable economic regulation to keep investment costs down and customer bills low. The Government does not intervene in any regulatory decisions made by the regulator.

Animal Welfare: Trapping

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a ban on snares.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that non-target species such as domestic pets are not caught in snares.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether snares are used to trap animals on land owned by her Department; and what records her Department keeps of animals caught in such snares.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that snare operators are (a) aware of and (b) complying with the Code of Good Practice on the Use of Snares, published in 2005.

Rory Stewart: Policy on wildlife management issues including snares is a devolved matter so I can only speak for England.In 2012 Defra published research on the extent of use and humaneness of snares in England and Wales. This research included an analysis of the issues covered by the code. Ministers are currently considering options.Defra and its agencies do not use snares on their property.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish a cost to benefit analysis of the badger cull.

George Eustice: The expected benefits of the policy remain in line with those in the ‘Measures to address bovine tuberculosis in badgers’ impact assessment published in 2011.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Government has spent in England on (a) cattle testing for TB, (b) compensation as a result of a test for bovine TB, (c) surveillance activity associated with bovine TB by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency and Animal Plant Health Agency, (d) Tuberculin supply and (e) research connected to bovine TB in each year since 2010-11; and what the total expenditure was on measures to prevent bovine TB in each such year.

George Eustice: The costs of TB testing are included in the overall sum delegated to the Animal and Plant Health Agency for the delivery of bovine TB controls in England which is given in the table below.TB Expenditure£/million£/million£/million£/million2010/112011/122012/132013/14APHA expenditure, including field operations and TB testing64.167.158.367.9APHA TB surveillance: laboratory and science costs3.93.13.03.3TB Cattle compensation (net of salvage receipts)24.323.523.922.6Cost of tuberculin purchase2.22.62.82.5TB R&D6.97.98.08.9Foot note: - This data was extracted from the Defra Oracle Financial system on 11 November 2015 and does not take account of EU receipts.

Air Pollution

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on measures to improve air quality in each year since 2010-11; how much funding has been allocated to air quality improvement in the 2015-16 financial year; and what estimate she has made of the funding needed until 2020 to bring air pollution levels to within legal limits.

Rory Stewart: The Government has committed over £2 billion since 2011 in measures to improve air quality. As road transport is the dominant source of pollution most of the funding has been allocated from the Department for Transport. Defra’s contribution has taken the form of payments made under the Air Quality Grant Scheme to support local authority action on air pollution. Total payments made under the Scheme in each year are as follows:2010-11£2,361,0002011-12£3,078,7452012-13£3,100,0002013-14£1,000,0002014-15£1,000,0002015-16 (allocated)£500,000Future funding will depend on the outcome of the current Spending Review.The government has recently consulted on draft national and local Air Quality Plans for the UK. The finalised plans will be submitted to the European Commission by 31 December.

Flood Control

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the cost of maintaining flood defences in each year of this Parliament.

Rory Stewart: The Environment Agency spent directly £171 million maintaining flood defences in 2014/15. Many more flood defences are maintained by Local Authorities and Internal Drainage Boards.

Flood Control: Dartford

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much has been spent on flood defences in Dartford in the last 12 months; and what such spending is planned in the next 12 months.

Rory Stewart: Over the past twelve months, the Environment Agency has spent over £240,000 maintaining flood defence assets in the Dartford borough. During the next twelve months the Environment Agency expects to spend over £300,000 for this purpose.

Japanese Knotweed

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the property and mortgage industries and (b) local authorities on the effect of Japanese knotweed on property values.

Rory Stewart: As it is not for the Government to intervene in the lending decisions of mortgage lenders or the type or degree of risks they are prepared to take, there have been no recent discussions between the Department and the property and mortgage industries.There have been no discussions with local authorities on the effect of Japanese knotweed on property values. However, Cornwall Council has produced information on Japanese knotweed to help mortgage lenders make loan decisions when a property may have a Japanese knotweed problem.Nevertheless, the Department takes the problems caused by Japanese Knotweed seriously and for a number of years has provided funding for local action groups to reduce or eradicate Japanese knotweed, and for research into a suitable biocontrol agent.

Nature Conservation: Africa

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to assist African governments in reversing the number of animals thought to be at risk of extinction.

Rory Stewart: The UK Government is committed to working to help the conservation of biodiversity worldwide. The UK works closely with African and other countries to promote the conservation of the world's wildlife through our active membership of key international agreements, notably the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Convention on Migratory Species. The UK chairs the CITES Rhino Working Group, tasked with investigating the drivers behind, and possible solutions to, the dramatic rise in rhino poaching in parts of Africa. We have also worked within the EU to introduce stricter controls on the importation of hunting trophies of certain species such as lions and elephants.The UK has played a leading role in galvanising international action to combat the illegal wildlife trade. We hosted the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in February 2014, actively supported the Government of Botswana in its hosting of a follow-up Conference in March 2015 and have committed financial support to Vietnam in hosting a third international conference in 2016.Defra manages a £13 million Challenge Fund to help combat the illegal wildlife trade. On 5 August we launched Round 2 of the Fund to support practical projects around the world that aim to do this. Details of currently-funded projects in Africa and elsewhere can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/451392/iwt-existing-projects.pdfIn addition, we fund species conservation projects across Africa through the Darwin Initiative, a UK Government scheme that helps to protect biodiversity and the natural environment. The Initiative has funded a wide variety of projects in Africa ranging from a £240,000 contribution towards the development of innovative anti-poaching strategies in Cameroon, to over £299,000 to improve the conservation of Tanzania’s large carnivores: leopards, lions, cheetahs and wild dogs.The UK also supports the African-led Elephant Protection Initiative, launched in the margins of the London Conference, through which nine African countries have committed to a ten-year moratorium on domestic ivory sales and to put their ivory stockpiles ‘beyond economic use’, in exchange for support and funding for their National Elephant Action Plans. The UK committed to match fund the first tranche of private sector funding, amounting to around £1 million.

Department of Health

Prostate Cancer

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the availability of comparative information on and screening for prostate cancer.

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to increase awareness of prostate cancer.

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of an annual screening programme on early detection of prostate cancer.

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to support prostate cancer awareness campaigns and screening programmes.

Jane Ellison: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. In 2010, the UK NSC recommended against a screening programme for prostate cancer as there was no clear evidence that the benefit to screen for prostate cancer outweighed the harms. The UK NSC re-affirmed this decision in 2012 and is in the process of reviewing this policy currently.The School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield performed an option appraisal for the UK NSC based on the latest trial evidence for screening for prostate cancer in 2013. A number of screening strategies were considered including annual screening in men aged 50 to 74 years. The overall survival benefit with all strategies was small and outweighed by the harms of over diagnosis and the adverse effects of over treatment.Public Health England (PHE) ran a local pilot campaign for six weeks in 2014, specifically targeting prostate cancer within Black African-Caribbean men, because of their significantly increased risk of developing prostate cancer. The campaign ran in six London boroughs. In addition, PHE will be running a national campaign on “Blood in Pee” in early 2016. This is primarily aimed at bladder and kidney cancer but blood in the urine can also be a sign of prostate cancer.

Department of Health: Families

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many of his Department's policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps he has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments that have been carried out; and if he will make a statement.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to implement the family test.

Jane Ellison: The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. TheDepartment for Work and Pensions published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and the Department of Health follows that guidance- Family Test Guidance.The Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance. Within the Department of Health, the Test is considered during the formulation and discussion of policy, rather than being assessed formally through impact assessments.

Offenders: Mental Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been screened by the NHS England Liaison and Diversion Service to see if they have mental health issues, learning disabilities, substance misuse or other vulnerabilities in the last three years for which figures are available.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were referred by the NHS England Liaison and Diversion Service for support or treatment in the last three years for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: NHS England made almost 40,000 liaison and diversion screenings and more than 10,600 referrals to treatment or support services for people of all ages between 1 April 2014 and 31 August 2015. Data is not available prior to 1 April 2014.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health places of safety for detention under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 accept under 18 year olds; and what that figure is as a proportion of that total number of places.

Alistair Burt: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has conducted a survey of health based places of safety and used the results to produce a Map of Health Based Places of Safety. From this, we estimate that 139 (around 85%) of the 164 health-based places of safety in England will admit under 18 year olds. However, we are aware that this is based on self-description by providers in response to CQC’s survey.

Mental Health Services: Standards

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 12902, what policies for improvement he is developing as a result of the Care Quality Commission's Community Mental Health Survey 2015.

Alistair Burt: Safe, effective mental health care is essential and patient surveys by the Care Quality Commission play a vital role in informing local services where improvement is needed. The report indicates that at the time of the survey, 3 out of 4 patients responding got some or all of the help they needed from crisis care services. The Crisis Care Concordat makes it clear that local commissioners should commission a range of mental health services, to ensure no one in crisis is turned away. Every area in England has signed up to the Concordat and detailed action plans are now in place across the country setting out how local partners will work together to adopt these principles and improve crisis care.The overall score for patient experience is high but there are areas for improvement and people should always be involved in decisions about their care. The revised Mental Health Act Code of Practice came into effect on 1 April 2015. The revised Code aims to provide stronger protection for patients and clarify roles, rights and responsibilities. This includes involving the patient and, where appropriate, their families and carers in discussions about the patient’s care at every stage; and providing personalised care.

Social Services: Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that providers of care are funded at a sustainable rate; and if he will make it his policy to implement the recommendations relating to care funding in the report by the Homecare Association, entitled the Homecare Deficit, published in March 2015.

Alistair Burt: The Government recognises the importance of maintaining a sustainable pool of independent social care providers to give people a choice of quality services.The Government welcomes the United Kingdom Home Care Association’s report that was published earlier in the year which made an important contribution to our understanding of pressures in the adult social care system.The overall allocation of funds to local government for adult social care that is funded by the state is being considered as part of the current spending review, and the Chancellor will make an announcement later in the month. The Government has taken into consideration demand and inflationary pressures. The Better Care Fund continues to provide additional funding to support integration between health and social care.More broadly, the Department is enhancing its market stewardship activity, and will develop a national Market Position Statement to set government’s ambition for the market, and will also continue to work to make the market more effective, in particular, working with the smaller businesses that typify the sector.

Naloxone: Prisoners

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of national programmes which provide naloxone for at-risk prisoners on their release.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prisons provide naloxone for prisoners upon release in England; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: There is no national programme that provides naloxone for at-risk prisoners on their release. The decision of whether or not to provide naloxone to prisoners on release is the responsibility of Health and Justice commissioning teams within NHS England’s area teams and other local stakeholders, including local authorities and clinical commissioning groups. The information on how many prisons provide naloxone for prisoners upon release in England is not held centrally.

Health Education

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support and promote Self Care Week; and what promotional materials he is disseminating in the NHS to support that campaign.

Jane Ellison: Self-care week is managed and promoted by the Self-Care Forum, an organisation which seeks to embed approaches to self-care it into everyday life and to educate and empower people to manage their own health and wellbeing. The Self Care Forum has been running its annual awareness campaign since 2011. This year, self-care week is taking place from 16-22 of November and the theme is ‘self-care for life’.The Self Care Forum has produced a range of promotional literature including posters, leaflets and a communication pack to help NHS services and other organisations raise awareness of self-care week locally. These materials are freely available from its website and can be found at the following link:www.selfcareforum.org/events/self-care-week-resources/As in previous years, NHS England is promoting Self Care Week and the ‘self-care for life’. Further information can be found at the following link:www.england.nhs.uk/2015/09/09/self-care-week/

Doctors: Training

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the training programme fill rates were for doctors entering core and further speciality training in each (a) speciality and (b) training region or deanery in each year since 2009.

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many doctors entered core and further speciality training in each (a) speciality and (b) training region or deanery in each year since 2009.

Ben Gummer: Published information on the numbers of doctors and fill rates by specialty for both core and specialty training by deanery for 2011 is available at Health Education England’s (HEE) website at:http://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/specialty-recruitment/competition-ratios/.Data on numbers of applicants and posts by specialty is also available for 2012 to 2015 on HEE’s website, but this is not broken down by deanery or region. Validated data by region is not yet available.Validated national data is not available before 2011.

Hospital Beds: West Sussex

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many delayed discharges in West Sussex related to people with brain injuries in the latest period for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Palliative Care: Standards

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the amount of choice and quality of care people available to those with terminal illnesses, their families and carers; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the amount of choice for high quality care.

Ben Gummer: The Department commissioned an independently led Review of Choice in End of Life Care which provided advice to Ministers earlier this year. The Review set out a vision for enabling greater choice and improving quality at the end of life for every dying person. This includes enabling greater use of advance care planning and electronic care records to record people’s choices and preferences, and building services around people’s needs and preferences.We want to ensure that patients have greater choice about the care they receive at the end of their life and we are working with NHS England to see how this can best be achieved. We will set out our full response to the Choice Review in the coming months.

Diseases

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce the effects of and (b) improve outcomes for (i) coronary heart disease and (ii) cardiovascular disease.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to update the Cardiovascular Disease Outcome Strategy, published in March 2013.

Jane Ellison: NHS England continues to support implementation of the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Outcomes Strategy. It is working closely with Public Health England (PHE) on a range of preventative issues which support implementation of the strategy and promote wider improvement in outcomes. These include addressing areas such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol together with the further development of NHS Health Checks. NHS England is also working with partners to support actions that promoteearlier diagnosis of conditions such as atrial fibrillation, heart failure and valve disease and improved survival from out of hospital cardiac arrest.NHS England also hosts an expert forum which brings together the relevant National Clinical Directors, the main relevant national charities, the National CVD Intelligence Network, PHE and the Department. This collaborative continues to coordinate delivery of the work which was initiated in the CVD Outcomes Strategy.As part of its work on the seven days services programme, NHS Improving Quality has surveyed 24/7 diagnostic service provision (including cardiac physiology) and has announced early adopter seven day sites. One of these adopter sites focuses on provision of seven day services to support cardiac interventions and improved bed usage. More details can be found at:http://www.nhsiq.nhs.uk/media/2422315/papworth_foundation_cs.pdf

Mental Health Services: Pregnant Women

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) furthest and (b) average distance was which patients travelled to in-patient mother and baby units specialising in psychiatric care during the perinatal period in each of the last three years.

Alistair Burt: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Mental Health Services: Pregnant Women

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many perinatal mental health admissions there were in 2014-15.

Alistair Burt: The information requested is detailed below. It shows the count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a primary diagnosis of a mental health issue associated with the puerperium in 2014-15. This is currently a provisional figureActivity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector (provisional)YearCount of FAEs2014-15343Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information CentreNotes:An FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.The data are provisional and may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final data set. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, ie November from the (month 9) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons the number and proportion of people receiving consultant-led mental health treatment within 18 weeks of referral is not recorded centrally; and what plans he has record such information.

Alistair Burt: The number and proportion of people receiving consultant-led mental health treatment is recorded within the monthly consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times collection, but is not separately identifiable. Data are separately identifiable for 18 high volume specialties, but most mental health treatment is not consultant-led.

Autism: Northumberland

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England is taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (i) children and (ii) adults in Northumberland meet NICE guidance.

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the experiences of (a) children on the autism spectrum, (b) adults on the autism spectrum and (c) family members and carers, during the diagnostic process, are collected and published.

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to (a) increase awareness of autism and (b) ensure that diagnosis times are improved.

Alistair Burt: The Department issued new statutory guidance in March this year for local authorities and National Health Service organisations to support the continued implementation of the 2010 Autism Strategy, as refreshed by its 2014 Think Autism update. This sets out what people seeking an autism diagnosis can expect from Local Authorities and NHS bodies.The Department has also discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups to discuss good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the NHS to be working towards meeting the recommendations.We are aware that Northumberland continues to make significant progress in improving access to services. A child will wait no longer between initial referral and treatment than 12 weeks and the majority are seen within nine weeks. Northumberland has also invested in adult autism diagnosis services and has an agreed programme with Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust designed to deliver the NICE guidelines for adults by September 2016. Urgent cases are seen earlier and those on waiting lists, whose needs escalate, are given access to services as required. There is also a newly developed emotional health and wellbeing strategy for children and young people in Northumberland which will aim seek to identify children with autism at an earlier age and ultimately provide earlier treatment.NHS England is promoting the engagement services with children and young people. All children, young people and adults, including those with autism or a learning disability, who are receiving care from the NHS, should have the opportunity to provide feedback via the Friends and Family Test. There should also be consideration given to capturing the views of parents and carers. In addition, the autism statutory guidance mentioned above states that NHS bodies and NHS foundation trusts should look at people’s experiences of the autism diagnostic process locally and assure themselves that this is acceptable.

Leukaemia: Drugs

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will intervene on behalf of Khalid Younis so that he receives drugs needed to treat his chronic myeloid leukaemia condition.

George Freeman: Ministers are unable to intervene in or comment specifically on an individual patient’s clinical care, which is a matter for the relevant clinicians.In the absence of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, funding decisions for individual treatments should be made by the relevant National Health Service commissioner, based on an assessment of the available evidence. Commissioners are also required to have processes in place for the consideration of exceptional funding requests.

Department of Health: Public Expenditure

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's expenditure against Departmental Expenditure Limits is in 2015-16; and what his Department's Annually Forecast Managed Expenditure in 2015-16 was (a) at the time of the March Budget, (b) at the time of the Summer Budget and (c) on 10 November 2015.

Jane Ellison: Departmental Expenditure Limits for 2015-16 were updated at the Summer Budget. Table 2.3 of the Summer Budget document contains the latest plans for Resource DEL excluding depreciation and Capital DEL. A link is provided below.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-budget-2015Totals for Annually Managed Expenditure are published twice a year at Main and Supplementary Estimates. The latest figures for 2015-16 were published in the Main Estimates, presented to the House of Commons on 2 July 2015. A link is provided below. Updated totals will be published in the Supplementary Estimates later in the financial year.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/main-supply-estimates-2015-to-2016

Mental Health Services: Expenditure

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ask NHS England to undertake a further review of clinical commissioning groups' spending on mental health in 2015-16.

Alistair Burt: Information will be provided in respect of spend during the financial year 2015/16 when it becomes available after that period.

Mental Health Services: Homosexuality

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of whether there has been an increase in the use of mental health services by chemsex drug users in the last 12 months.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England is due to publish a briefing for commissioners and providers of drug and alcohol services highlighting issues for men who have sexual contact with other men (MSM) and chemsex. The briefing contains background information, recent data and survey findings, and prompts for local areas and drug services – including liaison and referral for sexual, mental and physical health problems. Information is also collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre on contacts with drug and alcohol support teams, however data is not broken down by drug type or by behaviours associated with drug use.

Department of Health: Public Expenditure

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spent on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising (i) in 2014-15 prices and (ii) as a proportion of his Department's expenditure in each year since 2010-11.

Jane Ellison: The information is not available in the format requested. Non-payroll staff expenditure is effectively within the temporary agency figure but is not separately identifiable.The total value of the Core Department’s expenditure in respect of temporary agency staff and consultants is available in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts which have been published on the GOV.UK website and can be accessed via the links below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-2010-11https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-for-2011-to-2012-publishedhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015Consultancy services are defined as “The provision to management of objective advice and assistance relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of an organisation in pursuit of its purposes and objectives. Such assistance will be provided outside the ‘business as usual’ (BAU) environment when in-house skills are not available and will be of no essential consequence and time-limited. Services may include the identification of options with recommendations and/or assistance with (but not delivery of) the implementation of solutions.”The accounts figures can be converted into 2014-15 prices using the GDP Deflators at market prices and money GDP: October 2015 (The Blue Book) at the following page on the GOV.UK website:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp-october-2015-the-blue-bookThe proportion of expenditure can be calculated by taking the spend categories as a proportion of the Revenue Departmental Expenditure Limit (RDEL) reported in the Annual Report and Accounts documents above.The total value of the Core Department’s expenditure in respect of administration and marketing (publicity) and advertising is shown in the tables below. Table D – Administration2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-15£’000£’000£’000£’000£’000(i) 2014-15 Prices456,441478,963468,842336,859188,658(ii) Proportion of Expenditure0.44%0.45%0.44%0.31%0.17%Table E Publicity and Advertising2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-15£’000£’000£’000£’000£’000(i) 2014-15 Prices21,62224,58445,8909744,230(ii) Proportion of Expenditure0.02%0.02%0.04%0.001%0.004%Marketing and Advertising costs are not a separate category of spend within the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts. The figures stated above have therefore been taken from the Department’s General Ledger and then uplifted to 2014-15 prices. However, the nearest category is ‘publicity and advertising’ rather than ‘marketing and advertising’.

Universal Credit

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that it provides its staff with sufficient guidance to ensure that sanctions are not placed on universal credit claimants who do not have an applicable box to tick on NHS charges claim forms when claiming help with NHS health costs.

Alistair Burt: Various sources of information for the public and relevant staff, such as NHS Choices, are provided on the arrangements for Help with Health Costs, including how Universal Credit claimants should claim. However, the Department for Work and Pensions has also issued general guidance to staff signposting key information.Any claims for exemption from National Health Service charges or remission or repayment of relevant health costs made by a person because they meet the qualifying criteria may be the subject of a validation check. This is to protect NHS resources from fraud and error.Where a patient meets the criteria in place for Universal Credit and is therefore entitled to claim entitlement to Help with Health Costs, but there is no Universal Credit box available to tick on relevant forms, they can claim by ticking the “gets income based Jobseekers Allowance” box. Those whose claim is selected for a validation check will be able to explain their position to the relevant authority, and use their Universal Credit award notice to support their claim.

Mental Health Services: Hospital Beds

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many female inpatient mental health beds there were on (a) Saturday 7 November 2015 and (b) Sunday 8 November 2015.

Alistair Burt: We do not hold this information centrally. However we know that there were beds available across the country the weekend in question. Where there are shortages of beds, we would expect trusts to respond appropriately to any increase in demand. Providers and commissioners work in collaboration to ensure that they secure the most appropriate beds or places as close to home as possible.The Government has made it clear that beds must always be available for those who need them. We have set out in our Mandate to NHS England that plans must be put in place to ensure no one in mental health crisis will be turned away.

Cancer: Males

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to improve cancer outcomes for men.

Jane Ellison: The Government’s Mandate to NHS England sets out an ambition to make England one of the most successful countries in Europe at preventing premature deaths from all cancers, including prostate cancer and other cancers which affect men. Cancer indicators in the NHS Outcomes Framework and the Public Health Outcomes Framework will help NHS England to assess progress in improving cancer survival and mortality rates.The Independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A Strategy for England 2015-2020, in July this year. NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations contained in the strategy.As part of putting in place a governance structure for delivery of the strategy, NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director. She will lead the implementation of the strategy, as well as new cancer vanguards using outcomes-based commissioning to redesign care and patient experience.

Mental Health Services: North West

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time for access to talking therapies is in (a) Warrington and (b) the North West; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The information is shown in the following table.Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT): Average (mean) waiting time in days from referral to first treatment, for referrals that finished a course of treatment1 in April, May, June, and July 2015, all England and selected clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)2.EnglandAveragesMean waiting time (days) for all referralsCCG NameApril 2015May 2015June 2015July 20153ENGLAND31.331.130.831.4NHS WARRINGTON CCG334.933.929.5*NHS BLACKBURN WITH DARWEN CCG32.426.972.593.7NHS BLACKPOOL CCG104.4112.9113.8132.3NHS BOLTON CCG25.724.626.124.4NHS BURY CCG50.150.951.050.2NHS CENTRAL MANCHESTER CCG91.1106.5109.8139.0NHS CHORLEY AND SOUTH RIBBLE CCG39.031.798.6124.3NHS OLDHAM CCG51.250.250.747.3NHS EAST LANCASHIRE CCG35.830.687.595.2NHS EASTERN CHESHIRE CCG117.6107.5109.4112.8NHS HEYWOOD, MIDDLETON AND ROCHDALE CCG54.051.244.150.3NHS GREATER PRESTON CCG60.057.1159.7132.4NHS HALTON CCG96.192.572.553.2NHS SALFORD CCG54.943.049.950.9NHS KNOWSLEY CCG56.964.559.352.8NHS LANCASHIRE NORTH CCG83.7101.6218.6208.4NHS NORTH MANCHESTER CCG106.693.587.998.1NHS SOUTH MANCHESTER CCG87.475.874.185.8NHS SOUTH CHESHIRE CCG53.635.828.730.5NHS SOUTH SEFTON CCG150.8143.1124.5118.9NHS SOUTHPORT AND FORMBY CCG150.5141.6124.4107.7NHS STOCKPORT CCG53.045.241.440.5NHS ST HELENS CCG96.978.975.887.0NHS TAMESIDE AND GLOSSOP CCG59.759.850.549.3NHS TRAFFORD CCG29.129.231.626.2NHS VALE ROYAL CCG18.824.322.819.0NHS WEST CHESHIRE CCG39.140.144.140.6NHS WEST LANCASHIRE CCG38.238.9176.1131.5NHS WIGAN BOROUGH CCG61.267.870.558.3NHS FYLDE & WYRE CCG48.145.3127.3174.1NHS WIRRAL CCG30.433.141.4217.4NHS LIVERPOOL CCG171.9164.5130.2116.41In order to finish a course of treatment, a referral must have ended in the year with at least two treatment appointments having been attended in the course of the referral.2CCG is based on submitted organisation code of Commissioner, or derived from the GP Practice or the patient's postcode, depending on the validity of these fields. For more information, please see the Metadata document published at www.hscic.gov.uk/iaptmonthly.3Data for Warrington CCG in July 2015 has been suppressed (replaced with an asterisk "*") in order to protect patient confidentiality. This is because the average is based on a count of referrals finishing a course of treatment that is less than 5.The information provided are mean average waiting times in days for referrals this is not the same as people, as a patient may have more than one referral in the year) to IAPT services that finished a course of treatment between 1 April 2015 and 31 July 2015. Data are for all England and selected CCGs. To finish a course of treatment, a referral must have ended in the year with at least two treatment appointments having been attended in the course of the referral.IAPT do not publish data at regional levels such as the North West of England. For this reason, this analysis includes data for Clinical Commissioning Groups within the following NHS Area Teams in lieu of a single figure for the North West:- Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral Area Team;- Greater Manchester Area Team;- Lancashire Area Team; and- Merseyside Area Team.SourceHealth and Social Care Information Centre, Community and Mental Health Team

Health Professions: Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2015 to Question 11782, what discussions he has had with the professional regulators regarding the level of mental health training offered as part of the mandatory training course for (a) student doctors, (b) student nurses and (c) midwives.

Ben Gummer: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no discussions with professional regulators about mandatory mental health training. It is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC) and Nursing and Midwifery Council to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricular to ensure newly qualified doctors and nurses are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care.This includes mental health training as required.Health Education England will work with bodies that set curricula such as the GMC and the royal colleges to seek to ensure training meets the needs of patients.

Radiotherapy

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the review of national radiotherapy capacity commissioned by NHS England.

Jane Ellison: HS England has not commissioned a national capacity review of radiotherapy. Earlier this year, NHS England provided local commissioning teams with a tool to assist planning of radiotherapy services with their local providers in order to assess a different set of planning assumptions developed by the Radiotherapy Clinical Reference Group in line with rapidly changing clinical practice.

NHS: Negligence

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of claims management companies on the number of unmeritorious claims brought forward in clinical negligence cases.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of introducing a fixed recoverable cost regime in clinical negligence cases on the number of claims brought by claims management companies and litigants in person.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the costs to his Department associated with unmeritorious claims resulting from changes to a fixed cost recoverable scheme for clinical negligence.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the propriety of his Department overseeing the consultation on a fixed recoverable cost regime in clinical negligence cases when it is the defendant in most such cases.

Ben Gummer: The Department is working closely with stakeholders to develop the proposal to introduce fixed recoverable costs. We have undertaken a pre-consultation exercise with a number of key stakeholders, including representatives of claimant lawyers, and are planning an open public consultation shortly. We welcome views on the proposal from all sectors.The consultation documentation, including the Impact Assessment, will be published in early 2016 subject to relevant Committee clearances. We are working upon the assumption that there is nothing about Fixed Recoverable Costs regime which will alter the percentage of unmeritorious claims.Any scheme proposed will include consideration of the right incentives to support a fairer and quicker process that provides the improvements to the system whilst maintaining access to justice.The NHS Litigation Authority reported in their annual report for 2014/15 that it resolves over 4,000 clinical negligence cases annually for no payment of damages and in 2014/15 it saved over £1.2 billion for the National Health Service in rejecting claims which had no merit.

National Institute for Health Research: Grants

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) amount and (b) proportion of the grants awarded by the National Institute for Health Research have been related to mental health in each of the last five years.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) awards funding of varying durations through a wide range of research programmes, research training and career development schemes, and funding streams for research infrastructure, systems and support services.Spend on research funded directly by the NIHR has been categorised by Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health categories. NIHR expenditure on research infrastructure, systems and support services where spend cannot be attributed to health categories is excluded. The following table shows NIHR spend in the ‘mental health’ category, and this spend as a proportion of total categorised spend and as a proportion of total revenue expenditure.NIHR spend in ‘mental health’ HRCS health category  £ millionProportion of total categorised NIHR spend %Proportion of total NIHR revenue spend %2010/1149.89.05.42011/1253.29.05.82012/1370.09.57.32013/1471.79.57.32014/1572.69.07.4

MRSA

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a comparative assessment of the number of recorded MRSA infections recorded in (a) Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, (b) Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and (c) England in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The number of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia reported by and attributed to Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust in the past seven financial years (FYs) is provided in the table below. Total MRSA reports and acute trust attribution is also provided for England.MRSA bacteraemia reported by and attributed to Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (FY 2008/09 to FY 2014/15)Sherwood ForestNottingham University HospitalsEnglandReportedTrust apportionedReportedTrust apportionedReportedTrust apportioned2008/0931173517293516062009/101464021189810042010/116011514816882011/123014811164732012/13101359243982013/1453728623642014/1550114801287Source: - Annual results from the mandatory MRSA reporting scheme (FY 2007/08 to 2014/15).- Accompanying data for annual epidemiological commentary: MRSA, MSSA and E. coli bacteraemia and C. difficile infection data, up to and including financial year 2014 to 2015This data is not case-mix adjusted (i.e. they do not take into account the different population types served by each hospital) and so are not directly comparable. It is important to note that MRSA bacteraemia cases are reported by the acute trust whose laboratory processes the specimen and this may not always reflect where the bacteraemia was acquired.Public Health England is working, with partner organisations, to address antimicrobial resistance through the implementation of the UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy[1]. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-5-year-antimicrobial resistance-strategy-2013-to-2018

Hospital Beds: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions bed occupancy rates were (a) 85, (b) 90, (c) 95 and (d) 100 per cent in each hospital trust in Nottinghamshire in each of the last five years.

Ben Gummer: Official statistics for average daily occupancy rates for beds open overnight are published every quarter by NHS England on its website at the following address:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/

Accident and Emergency Departments: Opening Hours

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the possible effect of reductions in accident and emergency opening hours  on public health and medical treatment standards.

Jane Ellison: Changes to front line health services are a matter for local National Health Service commissioners and providers.Any significant service change should take account of guidance published by NHS England on 29 October 2015: Planning, assuring and delivering service change for patients. This reflects the objective in the mandate from the Government to NHS England to ensure that significant changes to services meet four tests: (i) strong public and patient engagement; (ii) consistency with current and prospective need for patient choice; (iii) a clear clinical evidence base; and (iv) support for proposals from clinical commissioners.

Community Health Services

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will assess the effectiveness of arrangements for delivering community health services to patients who reside outside the clinical commissioning group area in which their GP is based.

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients are registered with GPs who are based outside the clinical commissioning group area in which the patient resides.

Alistair Burt: From 5 January 2015, all GP practices are able to register new patients who live outside the practice area.NHS England has been reviewing the numbers of patients registering with practices away from their home address and have also been monitoring the number of patients who have had cause to seek in hours care whilst at their home address. To date, NHS England has not reviewed the effectiveness of community health services.As at 1 November 2015, 33,347 patients in England were registered as out of area patients.

National Institute for Health Research

Mims Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the National Institute for Health Research.

George Freeman: The effectiveness of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is subject to continuous review. The NIHR annual report details some of the activities that have had the most significant impact during 2014/15. The NIHR annual report is available at:http://www.nihr.ac.uk/documents/about-NIHR/NIHR-Publications/NIHR-Annual-Reports/NIHR%20Annual%20Report%202014-2015.pdf

Abortion: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on the devolution of abortion legislation to the Scottish Parliament.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the devolution of abortion legislation to the Scottish Parliament.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with organisations representing women in (a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales on the devolution of abortion legislation to the Scottish Parliament.

Jane Ellison: I have had discussions with Ministers on the Smith Commission Agreement and the Scotland Bill. The Secretary of State for Scotland has spoken to women’s groups in Scotland about devolution of abortion legislation, and Department of Health officials have had informal discussions and communication with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on this matter.

Carers

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14774, what data his Department holds on the number of voluntary carers in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We take voluntary in this context to mean informal unpaid carers – those volunteering to care in a formal capacity are not included in these statistics which are set out below.Data on provision of unpaid care from the 2011 Census was published by Office of National Statistics (ONS) on 11 December 2012. This showed that there were 6.5 million carers in the United Kingdom.On 15 February 2013, the ONS published an article with the results of further analysis of the data, which shows that the overall number of unpaid carers in England and Wales has grown by 600,000 since the 2001 Census (approximately 5.8 million people, representing just over 10% of the population).